02-05-2021, 11:34 AM
(This post was last modified: 02-06-2021, 04:06 PM by Asked Madden.)
Another week has happened since the last power rankings, so it seems like it is time for a quick update on how things are looking now. I will break things down the same way I did last time. We shall start in the NSFC and just go down the list first to seventh, then repeat for the ASFC. I hope you enjoy this update.
1. Chicago – 9.1 (Previously 1st with 7.2 Power Points). The Butchers solidify their early stranglehold over the division with a win on the road against Sarasota. This win keeps them at first in the division moving into their next test, a home game against the struggling Yeti. I don’t see Chicago losing this one as Colorado has been sluggish (to put it nicely) so far this season, but sim gonna sim. Should they win, they will have already beaten every team in the division except for Berlin, who they face off against on the road in week 7. This bodes well for Chicago’s chances at taking home that coveted number one seed in the inaugural season of the new sim. While it is still way too early to be making meaningful postseason predictions, the Butchers certainly look like the team to beat coming out of the first quarter of the season.
2. Yellowknife – 4.1 (Previously 3rd with 2.1 Power Points). The Wraiths are now officially streaking after dropping their season opener to the aforementioned Butchers. The defending champs nearly double their Power Points score and climb up a rank into second place after starting in fifth. Of course, the early season is far more volatile than the later season as the smaller sample size amplifies any change. In any case, the Wraiths are making a good case for why they should still be considered a legitimate contender out of the NSFC. Their title defense is still going strong and I expect to see them in the playoffs. Their next game should be an easy win on the road against Baltimore before they come back home to take on Philadelphia. I expect to see them pick up a decent number of points between those two games. That said, their game in week 7 against the Silverbacks could be a very interesting one depending on what happens in New York between now and then.
3. Sarasota – 0.3 (Previously 2nd with 2.2 Power Points). The Sailfish suffered a disappointing loss on their home field, falling to Chicago 28-32. The Sailfish were able to keep it interesting, but unfortunately they just could not contain the Butchers. Their score does, however, remain just barely in the positives. Their schedule, however, does not get much easier with games against Orange County and on the road against Berlin before thing get a little easier in their week 7 matchup against the struggling Hawks. I still think the Sailfish are a strong team and would not be at all surprised to see them back in the playoffs, but I am sure they would have hoped for a better start to the new season.
4. Philadelphia -- -2.1 (Previously 6th with -2.5 Power Points). Philadelphia’s win over Baltimore did not help their score out too much, but it certainly helped their placement. They leapfrog a couple teams to come in as the first team out of the top trio in this weeks’ standings. It is hard to draw too many meaningful conclusions from a win against Baltimore aside from saying that it is good to see teams winning the games that they feel they should win. And, of course, the Liberty’s other win comes against a Surging Honolulu squad. The Liberty still have a lot to prove going forwards, but they are showing it is possible that they could surprise some people even as early as this season. They no face a gauntlet of four consecutive road games that will see them facing off against Berlin, Yellowknife, Colorado, and New Orleans.
5. Berlin -- -3.2 (Previously 5th with -1.2 Power Points). Berlin is another team that is streaking, but this time it is not in a good way. They have dropped their third game in a row, and all three have been losses by at least 2 scores. The bright side is that they managed double digit points on the road against Yellowknife, something that they could not manage to do at home against Arizona and Colorado. They now have two losses at home dragging their score down. Their next matchup is at home against the Liberty, a game that I could see either team winning. The Liberty have outscored the Fire Salamanders by a good margin, but the Fire Salamanders have been stingier on defense. It should be an interesting game that probably will have very little impact on how the division shakes out, aside from potentially setting higher draft picks.
6. Colorado -- -3.5 (Previously 4th with -0.7 Power Points). The Yeti are not having a good start to the season. All three losses have come on the home field and two have come from teams that will likely be making a playoff run. Four games is still far too early, but it is starting to look like the Yeti could be in for another slightly disappointing season as they continue to develop Caliban. Their next test will be on the road at Chicago, probably meaning that we will drop to a dismal 1-4 record before taking on Baltimore and Philadelphia. While I did not exactly expect us to set the league on fire this season, I also did not expect to see the Yeti sitting in a solid second-from-last, ahead of only Baltimore.
7. Baltimore -- -11.8 (Previously 7th with -11.4 Power Points). Speaking of Baltimore, they remain in dead last, though their score only decreased by less than half a power point. Unfortunately, slowing their slide into the negatives is not enough to even get close to anything other than last. The Hawks now find themselves under the direction of interim GMs who will look to steady the course until HO and the team find a new duo to lead them into the future. Whoever is chosen will certainly have a daunting task in rebuilding the team, but Chicago and Philly have proved that sometimes these processes can have a successful outcome within a couple seasons.
The middle of the NSFC saw some shifting around between this week and last. Chicago maintains their possession of the top of the division and probably will moving into the future barring something truly disastrous. Yellowknife took second place from Sarasota, who showed a significant drop off in Power Points. Philadelphia jumped from sixth to fourth, leapfrogging Berlin and sending Colorado plummeting to take their place in sixth.
Now, we move to the ASFC.
1. HON – 7.3 (Previously 1st with 4.1 Power Points). Honolulu continues to impress this season. They are yet another team that is streaking after winning their third win in a row in dominant fashion against San Jose. All three of their wins have now come by more than two scores. Dropping their first game to Philadelphia is the only blemish on their record. They look ahead to taking on Arizona and New York at home. I still find it a little bit hard to believe that they are starting the season so strong after struggling so heavily last season, but each win goes a little farther in proving that they really have turned things around. I admit that any loss may lead to a quick dismissal of their success and there is still a lot of season to go. In any case, they have certainly made massive steps forward after last season and I will be cheering for them in the future.
2. NYS – 2.6 (Previously 2nd with 3.7 Power Points). Despite dropping over a full point, New York maintains a tenuous grasp on their second place slot in the power rankings. Their early season win streak was ended on their road trip to Arizona. That loss ends a streak of dominant wins and set them up as tied for Honolulu atop the division standings with a 3-1 record. The two offenses are remarkably close, but Honolulu’s defense has certainly been more stringent. That said, New York has already beaten some traditional power house teams, although those teams certainly seem down on their luck this season after some early losses. New York will be taking on San Jose next week and is likely looking forward to the opportunity to score some points against the defense that has allowed the most points in the division.
3. Arizona – 1.8 (previously 4th with 0.7 Power Points). Arizona is the first team in the division to make a move as they now find themselves on the podium for week four. They added over a full point with a big win against the Silverbacks in front of the home fans. That gives Arizona two wins in a row after starting off in the new sim dropping their first two games. That said, they now face three daunting road games in a row that will pit them against a very hot Hahalua team, an established dynasty in the Otters, and a down-on-their-luck Secondline squad. If they want to find themselves competing for a playoff spot later in the season, Arizona probably needs to win at least two of those games. While all three are important, winning the two big ones in the Honolulu and Orange county games would go a very long way in helping them further their rise in the standings.
4. Austin – 0.2 (Previously 7th with -2.6 Power Points). Austin brought out the big guns and makes a massive jump in both Power Points and the standings, going from dead last to the first team off the podium. Unfortunately, it was a win against the Yeti that helped their recovery after getting blown out by New York. That win should give the team a little swagger as they look ahead to the SecondLine. While they have struggled on the road, the team has a much more respectable point differential and throws themselves back into the mix of the four teams at 2-2 through the first quarter of the season.
5. New Orleans -- -.01 (Previously 3rd with 1.6 Power Points). New Orleans took a tumble, dropping slightly into the negatives by losing an impressive 1.7 Power Points in a single game. That said, the team was probably only that high because of a single blowout win against San Jose that is sandwiched between losses, although their most recent loss to Orange County was very close. The SecondLine have scored more points than they have allowed, but that can be attributed again to a single blowout win sandwiched between a few close losses. Which again highlights the some of the deficiencies of this power ranking scale, since it relies in large part on point differentials that can be misleading in situations like this. New Orleans might have a chance in their upcoming road trip to Austin, but I don’t see them overcoming a tough challenge against Chicago on the road.
6. Orange County -- -0.7 (Previously 6th with -2.4). After a rough couple games, the Otters bounced back with a win against their long-time rivals in New Orleans. A last second field goal sealed the deal for Orange County, who sneaks away with the win despite Ramza posting a 68.4 QBR in the game. The Otters throw themselves into the tangle of 2-2 teams and look to the future in their upcoming road trip to face Sarasota. A road win there would go a long way to boosting themselves all the way back into the playoff picture in the first half of the season. As enjoyable as it has been for many seeing the Orange Dynasty struggling in the early season, I am not so sure you can count on int lasting. Like life, the Otters always seem to find a way.
7. San Jose -- -4.0 (Previously 5th with -0.9 Power Points). San Jose is coming off back to back bad losses, getting blown out by New Orleans and falling flat against Honolulu. After starting the season with two road wins, they now drop all the way into last place and by a decent margin. Despite their offense being first in yards per game in the conference, they haven’t managed to turn that into wins. Their defense is near the bottom in the league as a whole in points per game, yards allowed, and rush defense, though they show marginal improvement in the pass defense. Despite being one of the teams sitting at 2-2 so far on the season, the power rankings predict they will fall to the bottom of the division going forwards.
Honolulu maintained their grasp on the top of the division and, despite losing some points, New Yrok remains in second. Arizona and Austin made gains while New Orleans and San Jose moved in the opposite direction. In any case, with every single team in the division within two games of each other and four of the seven teams currently sitting at 2-2, the ASFC is potentially looking at another weird tiebreaker situation late in the season. What better way could there be to usher in the new season than another whacky tiebreaker to set the playoff picture.
Here are the standings after week 4:
ASFC:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
ASFC:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
1. Chicago – 9.1 (Previously 1st with 7.2 Power Points). The Butchers solidify their early stranglehold over the division with a win on the road against Sarasota. This win keeps them at first in the division moving into their next test, a home game against the struggling Yeti. I don’t see Chicago losing this one as Colorado has been sluggish (to put it nicely) so far this season, but sim gonna sim. Should they win, they will have already beaten every team in the division except for Berlin, who they face off against on the road in week 7. This bodes well for Chicago’s chances at taking home that coveted number one seed in the inaugural season of the new sim. While it is still way too early to be making meaningful postseason predictions, the Butchers certainly look like the team to beat coming out of the first quarter of the season.
2. Yellowknife – 4.1 (Previously 3rd with 2.1 Power Points). The Wraiths are now officially streaking after dropping their season opener to the aforementioned Butchers. The defending champs nearly double their Power Points score and climb up a rank into second place after starting in fifth. Of course, the early season is far more volatile than the later season as the smaller sample size amplifies any change. In any case, the Wraiths are making a good case for why they should still be considered a legitimate contender out of the NSFC. Their title defense is still going strong and I expect to see them in the playoffs. Their next game should be an easy win on the road against Baltimore before they come back home to take on Philadelphia. I expect to see them pick up a decent number of points between those two games. That said, their game in week 7 against the Silverbacks could be a very interesting one depending on what happens in New York between now and then.
3. Sarasota – 0.3 (Previously 2nd with 2.2 Power Points). The Sailfish suffered a disappointing loss on their home field, falling to Chicago 28-32. The Sailfish were able to keep it interesting, but unfortunately they just could not contain the Butchers. Their score does, however, remain just barely in the positives. Their schedule, however, does not get much easier with games against Orange County and on the road against Berlin before thing get a little easier in their week 7 matchup against the struggling Hawks. I still think the Sailfish are a strong team and would not be at all surprised to see them back in the playoffs, but I am sure they would have hoped for a better start to the new season.
4. Philadelphia -- -2.1 (Previously 6th with -2.5 Power Points). Philadelphia’s win over Baltimore did not help their score out too much, but it certainly helped their placement. They leapfrog a couple teams to come in as the first team out of the top trio in this weeks’ standings. It is hard to draw too many meaningful conclusions from a win against Baltimore aside from saying that it is good to see teams winning the games that they feel they should win. And, of course, the Liberty’s other win comes against a Surging Honolulu squad. The Liberty still have a lot to prove going forwards, but they are showing it is possible that they could surprise some people even as early as this season. They no face a gauntlet of four consecutive road games that will see them facing off against Berlin, Yellowknife, Colorado, and New Orleans.
5. Berlin -- -3.2 (Previously 5th with -1.2 Power Points). Berlin is another team that is streaking, but this time it is not in a good way. They have dropped their third game in a row, and all three have been losses by at least 2 scores. The bright side is that they managed double digit points on the road against Yellowknife, something that they could not manage to do at home against Arizona and Colorado. They now have two losses at home dragging their score down. Their next matchup is at home against the Liberty, a game that I could see either team winning. The Liberty have outscored the Fire Salamanders by a good margin, but the Fire Salamanders have been stingier on defense. It should be an interesting game that probably will have very little impact on how the division shakes out, aside from potentially setting higher draft picks.
6. Colorado -- -3.5 (Previously 4th with -0.7 Power Points). The Yeti are not having a good start to the season. All three losses have come on the home field and two have come from teams that will likely be making a playoff run. Four games is still far too early, but it is starting to look like the Yeti could be in for another slightly disappointing season as they continue to develop Caliban. Their next test will be on the road at Chicago, probably meaning that we will drop to a dismal 1-4 record before taking on Baltimore and Philadelphia. While I did not exactly expect us to set the league on fire this season, I also did not expect to see the Yeti sitting in a solid second-from-last, ahead of only Baltimore.
7. Baltimore -- -11.8 (Previously 7th with -11.4 Power Points). Speaking of Baltimore, they remain in dead last, though their score only decreased by less than half a power point. Unfortunately, slowing their slide into the negatives is not enough to even get close to anything other than last. The Hawks now find themselves under the direction of interim GMs who will look to steady the course until HO and the team find a new duo to lead them into the future. Whoever is chosen will certainly have a daunting task in rebuilding the team, but Chicago and Philly have proved that sometimes these processes can have a successful outcome within a couple seasons.
The middle of the NSFC saw some shifting around between this week and last. Chicago maintains their possession of the top of the division and probably will moving into the future barring something truly disastrous. Yellowknife took second place from Sarasota, who showed a significant drop off in Power Points. Philadelphia jumped from sixth to fourth, leapfrogging Berlin and sending Colorado plummeting to take their place in sixth.
Now, we move to the ASFC.
1. HON – 7.3 (Previously 1st with 4.1 Power Points). Honolulu continues to impress this season. They are yet another team that is streaking after winning their third win in a row in dominant fashion against San Jose. All three of their wins have now come by more than two scores. Dropping their first game to Philadelphia is the only blemish on their record. They look ahead to taking on Arizona and New York at home. I still find it a little bit hard to believe that they are starting the season so strong after struggling so heavily last season, but each win goes a little farther in proving that they really have turned things around. I admit that any loss may lead to a quick dismissal of their success and there is still a lot of season to go. In any case, they have certainly made massive steps forward after last season and I will be cheering for them in the future.
2. NYS – 2.6 (Previously 2nd with 3.7 Power Points). Despite dropping over a full point, New York maintains a tenuous grasp on their second place slot in the power rankings. Their early season win streak was ended on their road trip to Arizona. That loss ends a streak of dominant wins and set them up as tied for Honolulu atop the division standings with a 3-1 record. The two offenses are remarkably close, but Honolulu’s defense has certainly been more stringent. That said, New York has already beaten some traditional power house teams, although those teams certainly seem down on their luck this season after some early losses. New York will be taking on San Jose next week and is likely looking forward to the opportunity to score some points against the defense that has allowed the most points in the division.
3. Arizona – 1.8 (previously 4th with 0.7 Power Points). Arizona is the first team in the division to make a move as they now find themselves on the podium for week four. They added over a full point with a big win against the Silverbacks in front of the home fans. That gives Arizona two wins in a row after starting off in the new sim dropping their first two games. That said, they now face three daunting road games in a row that will pit them against a very hot Hahalua team, an established dynasty in the Otters, and a down-on-their-luck Secondline squad. If they want to find themselves competing for a playoff spot later in the season, Arizona probably needs to win at least two of those games. While all three are important, winning the two big ones in the Honolulu and Orange county games would go a very long way in helping them further their rise in the standings.
4. Austin – 0.2 (Previously 7th with -2.6 Power Points). Austin brought out the big guns and makes a massive jump in both Power Points and the standings, going from dead last to the first team off the podium. Unfortunately, it was a win against the Yeti that helped their recovery after getting blown out by New York. That win should give the team a little swagger as they look ahead to the SecondLine. While they have struggled on the road, the team has a much more respectable point differential and throws themselves back into the mix of the four teams at 2-2 through the first quarter of the season.
5. New Orleans -- -.01 (Previously 3rd with 1.6 Power Points). New Orleans took a tumble, dropping slightly into the negatives by losing an impressive 1.7 Power Points in a single game. That said, the team was probably only that high because of a single blowout win against San Jose that is sandwiched between losses, although their most recent loss to Orange County was very close. The SecondLine have scored more points than they have allowed, but that can be attributed again to a single blowout win sandwiched between a few close losses. Which again highlights the some of the deficiencies of this power ranking scale, since it relies in large part on point differentials that can be misleading in situations like this. New Orleans might have a chance in their upcoming road trip to Austin, but I don’t see them overcoming a tough challenge against Chicago on the road.
6. Orange County -- -0.7 (Previously 6th with -2.4). After a rough couple games, the Otters bounced back with a win against their long-time rivals in New Orleans. A last second field goal sealed the deal for Orange County, who sneaks away with the win despite Ramza posting a 68.4 QBR in the game. The Otters throw themselves into the tangle of 2-2 teams and look to the future in their upcoming road trip to face Sarasota. A road win there would go a long way to boosting themselves all the way back into the playoff picture in the first half of the season. As enjoyable as it has been for many seeing the Orange Dynasty struggling in the early season, I am not so sure you can count on int lasting. Like life, the Otters always seem to find a way.
7. San Jose -- -4.0 (Previously 5th with -0.9 Power Points). San Jose is coming off back to back bad losses, getting blown out by New Orleans and falling flat against Honolulu. After starting the season with two road wins, they now drop all the way into last place and by a decent margin. Despite their offense being first in yards per game in the conference, they haven’t managed to turn that into wins. Their defense is near the bottom in the league as a whole in points per game, yards allowed, and rush defense, though they show marginal improvement in the pass defense. Despite being one of the teams sitting at 2-2 so far on the season, the power rankings predict they will fall to the bottom of the division going forwards.
Honolulu maintained their grasp on the top of the division and, despite losing some points, New Yrok remains in second. Arizona and Austin made gains while New Orleans and San Jose moved in the opposite direction. In any case, with every single team in the division within two games of each other and four of the seven teams currently sitting at 2-2, the ASFC is potentially looking at another weird tiebreaker situation late in the season. What better way could there be to usher in the new season than another whacky tiebreaker to set the playoff picture.
Here are the standings after week 4:
ASFC:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
ASFC:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.