05-05-2022, 09:59 AM
(This post was last modified: 05-16-2022, 02:53 PM by soevil. Edited 1 time in total.)
With two games played, it is time for another totally subjective power rankings, but this time they are not way too early on account of us literally doubling the number of data points. So these are totally official and of the highest quality.
1. BER (2-0, previously ranked 1st)
Berlin had a close game with the Yeti this last week. The Yeti, as we all know, are not the team they were a few short seasons ago, so this hurts my confidence in Berlin a tiny bit, but they've still taken care of business and picked up a couple early wins in the conference. The Fire Salamanders are off to a great start in pursuit of the coveted bye week in the playoffs. I have a hard team bumping a team out of the top seed when they didn't lose a game, so Berlin remains atop the power rankings so far this season.
2. NOLA (2-0, previously ranked 3rd)
Well I felt like I reached a bit for NOLA in third last time around, but this time putting them in second suddenly feels a lot more justified. The SecondLine have now beaten both opponents by two scores, with the second win being far more impressive in my mind than the first. A 2-score win over the defending top seed in the conference is pretty impressive. When I was running some tests for predictions, the two teams were pretty much even in wins throughout. So an upset here is not the most surprising thing in the world, but it is still a nice feather in the cap of the SecondLine and vaults them up into second in the power rankings. The place is theirs to lose now as far as I am concerned.
3. SAR (2-0, previously ranked 4th)
Sarasota has the second highest scoring offense in the league, despite being a measly 8th in yards. It will be interesting to see if the yards will catch up with the points, if the points will fall to match the yards, whether the two will meet in the middle, or whether there is simply no connection and sim gonna sim. In any case, Sarasota has now ALSO beaten the defending Ultimus champions and is undefeated in the conference. They fall to third, though, on account of both wins being by small margins. They only have a +5 point differential through the first two contests and have the most points allowed in the NSFC. I worry that they will eventually fail to outscore a few opponents and will drop a little bit. They should still be a playoff team in the NSFC, though I doubt they have a significant shot at the first seed without some help. But for now they get to enjoy chilling in third in the power rankings and sitting atop the conference.
4. HON (1-1, previously ranked 2nd)
The Hahalua were upset by New Orleans in a relatively low-scoring affair this week. The game, as I mentioned earlier, was pretty much a tossup in my testing, so I am not too surprised that it fell in the direction of the SecondLine. I am not really sure if this indicates much or anything at all for the Hahalua's season. I still expect them to be in the running for a top seed unless they get seriously unlucky. They may not be as clear a favorite as I initially thought, though. Their early win over Arizona could still be a big one, although the Outlaws have faltered a little bit more than I expected them to in the early season. Still, I think the Hahalua should be a lock for the playoffs and in competition near the top of the conference and that is good enough for now. We will see how it shakes out.
5. BAL (2-0, previously ranked 8th).
Baltimore, as @infinitempg has requested I point out, is a birb team and has the highest flying offense in the league at this point. The Hawks have managed 91 points through two games, lead the league in total yards, are second in the league in rush yards, and third in the league in passing yards. Their defense has been good enough to get the job done, which is relatively easy when you put up over 90 points across two games. The Hawks fall in the rankings, though, on account of their two opponents being Yellowknife and Austin. I do not have high hopes for either of those teams. If Baltimore can manage to beat a couple playoff teams, they will start flying up my list. They get a chance on Friday when they take on Berlin on the road. That will surely be their biggest challenge to this point in the season and could be telling for their playoff hopes.
6. SJS (2-0, previously ranked 5th)
San Jose suffers a bit from the same issue Baltimore does, but without the very impressive offensive numbers. Their defense is solid, but nothing super eye flashing, although their offense has been proficient compared to the rest of their conference. In any case, they are taking care of business and sit pretty at 2-0 through their first two games. A win is a win, it does not necessarily matter how you get there. The only thing that matters is the score at the end. But these are highly subjective power rankings, so I guess it does matter. Their next game against Yellowknife, who could be a bit stronger than I'm giving them credit for at this point, could be telling, but then the following game against Honolulu will be a big one.
7. ARI (1-1, previously ranked 7th)
I am scratching my head a bit with regards to Arizona. I expected them to have a stronger start to the season. 1-1 is not bad by any means and I am not trying to suggest they had a bad start to the season, but I feel like I needed a more convincing bounce-back win over the Otters to bump them further up the lists. They take on Austin and New Orleans in their next two games. I expect them to get past Austin relatively easily, but the New Orleans game could be a very important one for them, given New Orleans has started the season very strong. Arizona is definitely an interesting team to keep an eye on over the next stream as they could make big jumps or fall off hard depending on the results of the sim.
8. YKW (1-1, previously ranked 13th)
Yellowknife surprised me a little bit. I did not have high expectations for them this season and Philly was winning about 80% of the games in my (albeit limited) testing. I thought I would be putting Yellowknife near the bottom at 0-2 for this list, but instead they find themselves moving up with a nice upset win. If they can manage a couple more of those, they might e a nice surprise to mix up the NSFC as a conference and ruin some season predictions (mine included).
9. OCO (1-1, previously ranked 9th)
The Otters stay put. They managed to keep their game to the Outlaws relatively close, which could either be a credit to them, a knock on the Outlaws, some combinatino of both, or just the most recent sim fuckery. It's hard to say... In any case, I need to see more from them before they climb, but they have managed to avoid falling to 0-2 on the season and so they deserve a bit of credit for that one. Their next games against New Orleans and Austin should help clarify the picture with regards to where they really fit into the structure of the conference.
10. CHI (0-2, previously ranked 6th)
Dropping the defending champions this low this fast is probably a little bit harsh. But I stand by it and, in my defense, did put them at the highest in the 0-2 teams (although that's not really because they won the Ultimus game last season). Chicago has had a brutally difficult schedule to this point in the season. Their first two opponents, Berlin and Sarasota, were both playoff teams last season and should be strong again this season. Still, you expect the defending champs to at least pick up one win in a tough stretch and Chicago simply did not. I imagine they will return to their winning ways soon and shoot back up the list, but at this point they just aren't looking very good. Both of their losses have been close, so that's at least some small consolation prize, but I don't think they'll be satisfied with that.
11. NYS (0-2, previously ranked 11th)
NYS is another no-change team. I did have slightly higher expectations for them early in the season, but it seems like they are also riding the struggle bus. They have allowed more than 30 points in each of their first two games, both in conference. Digging yourself in a bit of a hole is never how you want to start a season, but the Silverbacks find themselves holding a shovel at this point and they'll have to find a way to reverse course and get back out of this slump if they want to be close to a playoff slot again this season.
12. PHI (0-2, previously ranked 10th)
Philly had a tough loss to Sarasota to start the season. In my testing going into their game with Yellowknife, they were testing around 80%. I fully expected them to put up a lot of points again and get to 1-1. Instead, they lost in a low scoring affair and drop down into 12th after week two. I think they are better than 12th, but they simply haven't shown the results at this point. I am pretty sure the Liberty are literally cursed in the sim, and have been since sometime before I joined the league. As Philly was my first time, I still have some warm feelings towards them and do hope they manage to pull themselves out of this slump, so long as they agree not to do it against my Yeti.
13. COL (0-2, previously 14th)
Speaking of my Yeti...we dropped to 0-2. Rumors of sim fuckery are flying around the locker room, but the truth is the team is still going through a rebuild and that always comes with some frustration. Thanks to the game being close against a strong opponent, I have them up in 13th. It's maybe a bit of homerism, but I did warn you all that these are subjective so deal with it.
14. AUS (0-2, previously 13th)
I bumped Austin to make room for the Yeti. Austin has allowed the most points of any team in the league at this point in the season. Their offense is in the top half of the league, but it isn't exactly flashy. Although they do lead the conference in pass yards per game so far. I do not expect big things from the Copperheads and they might climb back up into 13th over the next couple games since they won't have to play Baltimore again...
Hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading if you made it this far.
1. BER (2-0, previously ranked 1st)
Berlin had a close game with the Yeti this last week. The Yeti, as we all know, are not the team they were a few short seasons ago, so this hurts my confidence in Berlin a tiny bit, but they've still taken care of business and picked up a couple early wins in the conference. The Fire Salamanders are off to a great start in pursuit of the coveted bye week in the playoffs. I have a hard team bumping a team out of the top seed when they didn't lose a game, so Berlin remains atop the power rankings so far this season.
2. NOLA (2-0, previously ranked 3rd)
Well I felt like I reached a bit for NOLA in third last time around, but this time putting them in second suddenly feels a lot more justified. The SecondLine have now beaten both opponents by two scores, with the second win being far more impressive in my mind than the first. A 2-score win over the defending top seed in the conference is pretty impressive. When I was running some tests for predictions, the two teams were pretty much even in wins throughout. So an upset here is not the most surprising thing in the world, but it is still a nice feather in the cap of the SecondLine and vaults them up into second in the power rankings. The place is theirs to lose now as far as I am concerned.
3. SAR (2-0, previously ranked 4th)
Sarasota has the second highest scoring offense in the league, despite being a measly 8th in yards. It will be interesting to see if the yards will catch up with the points, if the points will fall to match the yards, whether the two will meet in the middle, or whether there is simply no connection and sim gonna sim. In any case, Sarasota has now ALSO beaten the defending Ultimus champions and is undefeated in the conference. They fall to third, though, on account of both wins being by small margins. They only have a +5 point differential through the first two contests and have the most points allowed in the NSFC. I worry that they will eventually fail to outscore a few opponents and will drop a little bit. They should still be a playoff team in the NSFC, though I doubt they have a significant shot at the first seed without some help. But for now they get to enjoy chilling in third in the power rankings and sitting atop the conference.
4. HON (1-1, previously ranked 2nd)
The Hahalua were upset by New Orleans in a relatively low-scoring affair this week. The game, as I mentioned earlier, was pretty much a tossup in my testing, so I am not too surprised that it fell in the direction of the SecondLine. I am not really sure if this indicates much or anything at all for the Hahalua's season. I still expect them to be in the running for a top seed unless they get seriously unlucky. They may not be as clear a favorite as I initially thought, though. Their early win over Arizona could still be a big one, although the Outlaws have faltered a little bit more than I expected them to in the early season. Still, I think the Hahalua should be a lock for the playoffs and in competition near the top of the conference and that is good enough for now. We will see how it shakes out.
5. BAL (2-0, previously ranked 8th).
Baltimore, as @infinitempg has requested I point out, is a birb team and has the highest flying offense in the league at this point. The Hawks have managed 91 points through two games, lead the league in total yards, are second in the league in rush yards, and third in the league in passing yards. Their defense has been good enough to get the job done, which is relatively easy when you put up over 90 points across two games. The Hawks fall in the rankings, though, on account of their two opponents being Yellowknife and Austin. I do not have high hopes for either of those teams. If Baltimore can manage to beat a couple playoff teams, they will start flying up my list. They get a chance on Friday when they take on Berlin on the road. That will surely be their biggest challenge to this point in the season and could be telling for their playoff hopes.
6. SJS (2-0, previously ranked 5th)
San Jose suffers a bit from the same issue Baltimore does, but without the very impressive offensive numbers. Their defense is solid, but nothing super eye flashing, although their offense has been proficient compared to the rest of their conference. In any case, they are taking care of business and sit pretty at 2-0 through their first two games. A win is a win, it does not necessarily matter how you get there. The only thing that matters is the score at the end. But these are highly subjective power rankings, so I guess it does matter. Their next game against Yellowknife, who could be a bit stronger than I'm giving them credit for at this point, could be telling, but then the following game against Honolulu will be a big one.
7. ARI (1-1, previously ranked 7th)
I am scratching my head a bit with regards to Arizona. I expected them to have a stronger start to the season. 1-1 is not bad by any means and I am not trying to suggest they had a bad start to the season, but I feel like I needed a more convincing bounce-back win over the Otters to bump them further up the lists. They take on Austin and New Orleans in their next two games. I expect them to get past Austin relatively easily, but the New Orleans game could be a very important one for them, given New Orleans has started the season very strong. Arizona is definitely an interesting team to keep an eye on over the next stream as they could make big jumps or fall off hard depending on the results of the sim.
8. YKW (1-1, previously ranked 13th)
Yellowknife surprised me a little bit. I did not have high expectations for them this season and Philly was winning about 80% of the games in my (albeit limited) testing. I thought I would be putting Yellowknife near the bottom at 0-2 for this list, but instead they find themselves moving up with a nice upset win. If they can manage a couple more of those, they might e a nice surprise to mix up the NSFC as a conference and ruin some season predictions (mine included).
9. OCO (1-1, previously ranked 9th)
The Otters stay put. They managed to keep their game to the Outlaws relatively close, which could either be a credit to them, a knock on the Outlaws, some combinatino of both, or just the most recent sim fuckery. It's hard to say... In any case, I need to see more from them before they climb, but they have managed to avoid falling to 0-2 on the season and so they deserve a bit of credit for that one. Their next games against New Orleans and Austin should help clarify the picture with regards to where they really fit into the structure of the conference.
10. CHI (0-2, previously ranked 6th)
Dropping the defending champions this low this fast is probably a little bit harsh. But I stand by it and, in my defense, did put them at the highest in the 0-2 teams (although that's not really because they won the Ultimus game last season). Chicago has had a brutally difficult schedule to this point in the season. Their first two opponents, Berlin and Sarasota, were both playoff teams last season and should be strong again this season. Still, you expect the defending champs to at least pick up one win in a tough stretch and Chicago simply did not. I imagine they will return to their winning ways soon and shoot back up the list, but at this point they just aren't looking very good. Both of their losses have been close, so that's at least some small consolation prize, but I don't think they'll be satisfied with that.
11. NYS (0-2, previously ranked 11th)
NYS is another no-change team. I did have slightly higher expectations for them early in the season, but it seems like they are also riding the struggle bus. They have allowed more than 30 points in each of their first two games, both in conference. Digging yourself in a bit of a hole is never how you want to start a season, but the Silverbacks find themselves holding a shovel at this point and they'll have to find a way to reverse course and get back out of this slump if they want to be close to a playoff slot again this season.
12. PHI (0-2, previously ranked 10th)
Philly had a tough loss to Sarasota to start the season. In my testing going into their game with Yellowknife, they were testing around 80%. I fully expected them to put up a lot of points again and get to 1-1. Instead, they lost in a low scoring affair and drop down into 12th after week two. I think they are better than 12th, but they simply haven't shown the results at this point. I am pretty sure the Liberty are literally cursed in the sim, and have been since sometime before I joined the league. As Philly was my first time, I still have some warm feelings towards them and do hope they manage to pull themselves out of this slump, so long as they agree not to do it against my Yeti.
13. COL (0-2, previously 14th)
Speaking of my Yeti...we dropped to 0-2. Rumors of sim fuckery are flying around the locker room, but the truth is the team is still going through a rebuild and that always comes with some frustration. Thanks to the game being close against a strong opponent, I have them up in 13th. It's maybe a bit of homerism, but I did warn you all that these are subjective so deal with it.
14. AUS (0-2, previously 13th)
I bumped Austin to make room for the Yeti. Austin has allowed the most points of any team in the league at this point in the season. Their offense is in the top half of the league, but it isn't exactly flashy. Although they do lead the conference in pass yards per game so far. I do not expect big things from the Copperheads and they might climb back up into 13th over the next couple games since they won't have to play Baltimore again...
Hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading if you made it this far.