by Mike Daggs, Queen City TE
Week 10 is upon us, ladies and gentlemen! The playoffs are only three weeks away! The top 10 is taking shape quickly, and if your team is on the outside looking in these last three weeks are going to be CRITICAL to changing your playoff fate. Records and tie breakers are one thing – but where did the VOTERS rank your team in this week’s Power Rankings? In a week that saw the LEAST amount of movement thus far, #1 will come as no surprise – the rest…. well, let’s find out!
| Team | Record | Change | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Tallahassee | 9 - 0 | 0 | 1 | At number 1.......... Tallahassee. *shocked face* Our last remaining undefeated team remains at #1 for another week. I'm sure you are all just as surprised as I was. The Christian Christiansen - Ken Gosset - Duke Wilson connections have been, and will be, impossible to stop. It's really starting to look like we may have the SFL's first "perfect season" since the season 4 Minnesota Maulers. |
Tulsa | 8 - 1 | 0 | 2 | Tulsa finally lost a game. It took 9 weeks, but they lost to Sioux Falls in a contest that seemed like the Sparrows were in control all day. Frankly, it was bound to happen at some point - may as well have gotten it out of the way now. Now, Tulsa can go back to dominating on defense with their league leading (by FAR) 27 takeaways. |
Sioux Falls | 7 - 2 | + 1 | 3 | Sioux Falls took down the undefeated Tulsa Desperados! By beating one of our last undefeated teams they've gone ahead and catapulted themselves up to #3 for the first time since week 4. They also knocked Alaska down a peg, even though Alaska won last week. Now sitting at 7 - 2, the Sparrows are well on their way to a playoff berth and a strong run at the championship. |
Alaska | 7 - 2 | - 1 | 4 | Alaska keeps winning but fell to #4 because the Sioux Falls Sparrows served up the Tulsa Desperados with their first loss of the season. That being said - Alaska is one of only three teams that converts more than HALF of all third downs on offense, and they in fact lead the league in the category at 57%. That alone will serve them well in the playoffs to keep the winning going. |
San Antonio | 6 - 3 | + 1 | 5 | In what was probably the best game of the week, San Antonio got a win over Vancouver 35-31 in the final moments of the game. Not only did that victory give the Vaqueros 6 wins on the season, but even more importantly it kept them out of the bottleneck of 5 - 4 teams that make up the rest of the top 10. They'll be playing hard to stay one win ahead of that group. |
Houston | 5 - 4 | - 1 | 6 | Houston narrowly fell to Alaska last week, losing by only 3 points in a game that saw 77 combined points being scored. An effort like that kept them above the other teams also sitting at 5 - 4 on the season. This group might be in the playoffs at the moment, but I expect plenty of movement in the 6 - 10 group over the next three weeks. |
Mexico City | 5 - 4 | 0 | 7 | Mexico City has officially risen from the ashes and are on their way to another playoff appearance. Things were looking precarious for a while there as they sat outside the top 10 from weeks 3 through 8. But they're back in it now, and another win on the books gives them their first winning record on the season. They've proven ball security is a priority with a league low 8 turnovers on the season. |
Queen City | 5 - 4 | + 1 | 8 | The Corsairs won a tough fought battle with Atlanta. It was, however, another close game after they nearly lost to Carolina the week before. They're in the playoff race but almost more than any of the other 5 - 4 teams they need to be extremely careful. In the next three weeks they play London twice, who's fighting for their playoff lives, and Alaska, who's been stomping teams all season. Sweeping London will be almost required. |
Indianapolis | 5 - 4 | + 1 | 9 | Indianapolis also put up another win this week beating St Louis to bring themselves to 5 - 4 on the season. Having a winning record earns them one of the final spots in the playoff seeding at the moment. It's surprising to see them so far down these rankings - granted, their record is what is, but their offense is actually the #3 scoring offense in the league behind only Tallahassee and Alaska. Think about that one for a while.... |
Atlanta | 4 - 5 | - 2 | 10 | With a tough loss to Queen City last week, Atlanta falls two spots in our week 10 rankings. That two spot drop is actually the biggest move of the week, surprisingly. Unfortunately for Atlanta, while they may be #10 in this week's power rankings, they're #11 as far as playoff seeding is concerned, and thus they are currently out of the playoffs. Up next,The Carolina Skyhawks who are coming off their 2nd win on the season. |
San Francisco | 4 - 5 | + 1 | 11 | San Francisco may be #11 in the rankings, but they're #10 in playoff contention and once again BACK in the playoffs. You know, if the season ended today. Which, of course, it won't. With three weeks to go it's more important than ever for San Francisco to keep on winning. Their next opponent is Alaska - one of the powerhouse teams of the league this season. |
London | 3 - 6 | - 1 | 12 | London is the first of our teams with 6 or more losses on the season. Six losses does not mean the season is over - there are 7 teams with better records that COULD end up with six losses or more themselves. But London basically needs to win out. Over the rest of the season, they face Queen City twice and Carolina once. Carolina has struggled this season, but the matchups against Queen City could crazy as the Corsairs are also fighting for their playoff lives. |
St. Louis | 3 - 6 | 0 | 13 | St Louis has an uphill fight ahead of them as well. Like all 3 - 6 teams, winning out is almost required to get a playoff spot at this point. So what do the Gladiators have to face in the coming weeks? Tulsa - currently at 8 - 1, and Sioux Falls, currently at 7 - 2. Also mixed in there is the 2 - 7 Oklahoma City Renegades, but taking down those two titans of teams seems to be the priority at the moment. |
| Vancouver | 3 - 6 | 0 | 14 | Vancouver rounds out our 3 - 6 teams in the rankings. Their path to finishing 6 - 6 may be a little less daunting than St Louis', but not by much. First up - Houston, who the Legion narrowly lost to in Houston back in week 5. Then, Dallas, who only has one win on the season. Last, Alaska, who crushed Vancouver back in week 1 in Alaska. So the Legion get to do both of those rematches at home this time, and perhaps that will help tilt the scale of victory in their favor. |
Chicago | 2 - 7 | 0 | 15 | Chicago is the first of our teams in the rankings this week who will finish the season with a losing record no matter what they do. So what's next for these four teams? Playing spoiler, of course. Heck, there's even still the off chance that unforseen chaos could unfold and a 5 - 7 team could work their way into the playoff mix. This week Chicago will look to muddy the waters for Indianapolis as they take on the Red Devils at home in Chicago. |
Carolina | 2 - 7 | + 1 | 16 | Carolina got their second win on the season and they're prepared to embrace the role of spoiler for the next three weeks. If they might end up watching the playoffs from home, they'd like to take some other teams down to watch with them. First up - Atlanta, coming off a loss last week that knocked them out of the playoffs. A Carolina win this week would throw a massive wrench in Atlanta's playoff gears. |
Oklahoma City | 2 - 7 | - 1 | 17 | Oklahoma City likely won't be doing much to spoil anyone's playoff ambitions. They take on Tulsa this week, which is effectively a lock for the playoffs regardless of this week's outcome. Then, they play Chicago who is nearly out for sure themselves as well, and then they wrap up against St Louis. If the Gladiators can win over the next two weeks, they'll be one win away from a .500 record and possible playoff position. If that happens, then that week 12 game will be huge. |
Dallas | 1 - 8 | 0 | 18 | Dallas can finish no better than 4 - 8, which will certainly not get them in the playoffs. But that doesn't mean they can't wreck the season for everyone else. San Antonio is currently 6 - 3. If they lose the next three games, that could seriously put their playoff position in jeopardy. Dallas will try to kick that losing streak off for them this week. Then, they host Vancouver that is still fighting just to get to .500 themselves. In week 12, they face Houston. Depending on the next two weeks for the 5 - 4 Hyenas, the week 12 matchup could very well decide whether Houston is in or out. Stay tuned... |
