2018: Kiss, marry, kill - which division do you choose?

The hall of fame Commissioner and widely lauded co host Chris Leach for another episode of LOC Network. Today, they discuss which division they would take on a date and where. Between that there's some recapping and previewing, but we know you all came here for the dating stuff.

2018 Power Rankings: Week 4

2018 Power Rankings: Week 4

Welcome coaches! Gather round for another exciting instalment of the power rankings! In a week where some weird NFL stuff happened, the knock on effect was lots of exciting results in the LOC! I entered this season intending to keep my rankings from being overly reactive, but until someone starts meet expected results or showing some consistency, we are going to struggle with that… get your act together gents! Anyway, on with the rankings!

12. Patistan (0-3-0) – Down 2

Speaking of consistency, we have someone new at the top of our list! Which descends… so I suppose that isn’t so great. Coach Allen will have been expecting this, he knows he needs to get more from his team; they are averaging over 20 points per game less than the second low scorers, that is huge. Kerryon Johnson fully emerging would help, but more is necessary.

11. The Dream Team (1-2-0) – No change

Congrats for the first win and breaking the duck, but it was their worst performance of the season. Brady and Kamara will continue to be the stars of this team, but more consistency is needed from other starters. With bye weeks coming up, the current bench may not be enough to keep the scoring up.

10. Bear Necessities (2-1-0) – Up 2

They came alive in time for the Stubbs Bowl! Okay, Matt Ryan came alive, but it still counts! He isn’t putting up 50 points a week, but seeing the former cellar-dwellers romp to 120 points and a win was more than enough to drag them up the rankings. The New England RB situation needs resolving, but hey, Coach Stubbs Sr. is in a playoff spot.

9. Gridiron Gang (0-3-0) – Down 3

Look, I don’t hate the Winchester division, honest, they just seem to feature heavily at this end of the rankings. I also don’t hate this team, but until they start winning, they are going to keep moving down. They have conceded a ton of points (the most) and the depth is still really good, but these rankings are for playoff chances and those are trending downwards.

8. Dissly Rascal (1-2-0) – Down 3

After a good opening week, two losses in a row amounting to the second lowest points total could arguably have this team lower in the rankings. I believe they are closer to pointing back upwards than some of the teams below them however, getting Ajayi back and having the Cowboys O do anything will help.

7. Forge Flyers (2-1-0) – Down 4

Last week lucky to win, this week a loss and suddenly they are bottom of the Portsmouth division. This is starting to shape up as a ‘what could have been’ type season. Is coach Leach praying that Bell is traded? He is certainly praying that Mixon is back soon. He needs more from his receiver room.

6. Burdettinators (1-2-0) – Up 2

Moving up despite the loss is a sign that this team is more steady than those falling below them which, I am big enough to admit, is the opposite of my draft day analysis. First challenge this coming week with McCaffrey on a bye, picking the right boom or bust replacement will be tricky. If Watson reaches the next level (and his lofty draft status), he will take this team with them.

5. IKSAN (2-1-0) – Up 4

Knocking over the former undefeated, former untouchable Tuckfards was bound to get them a bump up the rankings. Doing so with the gutsy call of playing Fitzmagic over Rodgers made it a BIG bump. Anything Isaiah Crowell does is a bonus, but unsustainable, Coach Sherwood will want to see bigger performances from his bigger (better) players.

4. Obi Wan Ganobi (3-0-0) – Up 3

I capped this team last week because despite being undefeated, they weren’t scoring many points. Now they are the ONLY undefeated team and they broke 100 points for the first time. Having a QB selection issue is less of an issue when you have the QB#2 and QB#3, Coach Gardner will want some more consistent RB play just in case the QBs (eventually) cool down however.

3. ADRZ (2-1-0) – Up 1

Scoring-wise, teams 4-11 are within 13 points of eachother, ADRZ are over 36 points clear of that range and well-deserving of a spot in the top 3. Any player seems capable of going off on any given week and that makes this team a dangerous proposition for anyone. Their namesake is currently set to replace Cam Newton this week, so a big game on the horizon.

2. Tom’s Tyrants (2-1-0) – No change

The unconvincing win was just enough to keep this team in second spot, but it was very close. Some tough matchups were part of the reason for lower scoring, but some of the supposed key contributors aren’t pulling their weight enough early doors. Needs to find a consistent flex player.

1. The Tuckfards (2-1-0) – No change

Despite the loss, this team will remain on top until someone proves capable of matching their incredible scoring rate. The bench also had plenty of points for the W last week, so depth isn’t much of a concern. Gurley and Thomas look like they are set in stone as the RB#1 and WR#1 for the season. They were darn close to 400 points in 3 weeks, which would have been hugely impressive. Although, rumour has it, it's doable in 2 weeks…

2018 - JOSH GORDON IM OUT YALL

As you can tell by the title - I'm quite excited by the prospect of Josh Gordon catching balls from the GOAT. Between my excitement, you may get some insightful recapping of week 2 and previewing of week 3 by co host Chris Leach.

2018 Power Rankings: Week 3

2018 Power Rankings: Week 3

Good evening all, here are, as promised, your one-day late power rankings! I know how hard it must have been you wait a whole extra 24 hours to get your weekly dose of EDOTLOCCA related media, especially for those of you expecting a healthy boost in the rankings. Well, you lucky lucky people, wait no longer!

…Okay sorry, tiny bit longer. I have decided to include changes in the rankings for each team as well week on week, just thought you should know. Now for real this time, let’s go!

12. Bear Necessities (1-1-0) – No change

Okay, this is technically on non-mover, but Bear Necessities has moved a lot, LOT closer to spot number 11 after putting up an impressive score and getting the win. They will be much happier with what they saw from Travis Kelce last week, but will need some solid RB production to emerge from somewhere in order to keep adding W’s and, surprisingly, leading the Winchester division.

11. The Dream Team (0-2-0) – Down 1

Kept off the bottom spot by an impressive average score, despite the two losses so far. This team is still building high points totals off of individual player performances, which could be deemed a good thing, until nobody has a particularly special week. Peyton Barber suddenly isn’t looking like a draft steal, or an RB2.

10. Patistan (0-2-0) – Down 4

Big drop for Coach Allen here who, after two weeks, has the lowest total point total and not a win to his name. Shaky RB play has been a theme of this end of the rankings, and it is no different here. News of an unhappy Antonio Brown and watching the Jags teach the league how to nullify Gronk will be of equal concern.

9. IKSAN (1-1-0) – Down 2

After what I called a healthy rise up the rankings last week, Coach Sherwood makes a very unhealthy fall back to where he was. The big name players (excluding Hopkins) didn’t show up in Week 2 and it showed. At the risk of sounding like a broken record… RBs.

8. Burdettinators (1-1-0) – Up 3

Building on an encouraging Week 1, Burdettinators pick up the win in Week 2 and deserve their bump up the rankings. The RB room looks like they will be set for consistent volume and will have some bigger weeks in the future, now Coach Burdett just needs to focus on getting the right supporting cast around them and this team will start moving further up the rankings.

7. Obi Wan Ganobi (2-0-0) – Up 2

Despite being one of three undefeated teams, Obi Wan Ganobi find themselves in the bottom half of the rankings still, just. They move up for another decent week, but are stunted for now by a total score only good enough for 9^th overall vs. least conceded points. Maybe get that kid from KC on? He seems decent.

6. Gridiron Gang (0-2-0) – Down 4

Coach Stubbs Jr. might be just in feeling a little cheated sitting at 0-2, but in all honesty, a high score from Big Ben masked what would have otherwise been a poor week for the team. They will be looking forward to having Fournette back and healthy, whilst Breida looks like he could turn into a draft steal.

5. Hooked on a Thielen (1-1-0) – No change

Despite being unable to fill the shoes of the almighty Dak Street Boys, Hooked on a Thielen stay unchanged as everyone else shuffles around them. Their week wasn’t as terrible as the points total makes out as they were hurt by injuries to Zuerlein and Ajayi. The Ajayi injury in particular may be the first big hurdle for this team with question marks over depth.

4. ADRZ (1-1-0) – Up 4

A good win for a coach with a penchant for getting the right guys on the pitch. Down his RB2 (and second round pick) before KO, Coach Wells showed a glimmer of poor depth, but his other starters rallied well. The receiving core made entirely of deep threats seems to be working a treat, and that was before one of them went to play with Mr Brady.

3. Forge Flyers (2-0-0) – Down 2

Coach Leach called it in the podcast that his team was ranked too high, but then proved in Week 2 that it is sometimes better to be lucky than good. The RB room took another hit with Mixon set to miss a few weeks and, after a pretty torrid score in Week 2, the outlook looks kind of bleak right now. The fall halts at spot 3 thanks to the empty loss column.

 2. Tom’s Tyrants (1-1-0) – Up 1

Unlucky to face the only team that could beat them in Week 2, the Tyrants make a minor climb based mainly on the fact that those above them did worse. This could potentially be the most balanced roster in the LOC at the moment, but the Chargers RB room creeping closer and closer to a committee is not welcome news.

1. The Tuckfards (2-0-0) – Up 3

The Tuckfards were the easiest team to place in these rankings, and that is the biggest compliment I can pay them. Top scorer in Week 1, top scorer in Week 2, nobody wants to face them right now. They even have depth. The one slight knock would be to the TE room but, in the grand scheme of things, that isn’t changing the fact that this team has its eyes firmly on a return to the playoffs.

2018: we're into the swing of it

We're back for another week (we being the commissioner and co host chris leach), and we're gonna give you the low down on everything week 1 and 2! How much has changed since the draft? You would be surprised. Tune in to find out!

2018 Power Rankings: Week 2

2018 Power Rankings: Week 2

Hello coaches! Week 1 is in the books and I would estimate that roughly 50% of us got the result we wanted after what must have verged on a historically high scoring opener. Seriously, ten teams went over 90 points, seven teams went over 100 (and one team very impressively got exactly 100), madness! And now, the fruits of your labour, finding out how Week 1 affected your team in these pointless and subjective rankings!

12. Bear Necessities (0-1-0)

Firstly, a big thank you to Coach Stubbs Sr. for validating my first set of rankings with a stinker of a Week 1. Not a lot of positives to talk about hear unfortunately, the Doug Baldwin injury was unfortunate, but the ineptitude of the Arizona’s offense and Travis Kelce’s no-show in a KC fireworks display are big concerns going forward.

11. Burdettinators (0-1-0)

Normally 97 points might bump you up a bit, but coupling the loss with the high scoring week keeps this team in place. Pros: Barkley looked hot in a tough matchup and he and McCaffrey both saw good volume. Cons: pass catchers were very efficient as opposed to heavily targeted and Watson looked shaky.

10. The Dream Team (0-1-0)

Kamara’s big day disguised a fairly average week as a good one, but it still ended with the loss. If Kamara stays hot alongside the steady Brady, it looks like this team will have enough contributors to make some waves. Unfortunately, none of the other RBs are inspiring much confidence at the moment.

9.  Obi Wan Ganobi (1-0-0)

The honour (??) of being the lowest rank winner falls to Coach Gardner after Week 1. The QB room looks emphatic and Cook and Beckham are both poised for bigger weeks in the future, it is just a question of where else the points are coming from. Trivia time: only non-QB to score a TD on this roster? Khalil Mack.

8. ADRZ (0-1-0)

As expected, we saw some boom from ADRZ this week! Tyreek Hill was electric and is clearly Mahomes’ favourite target. The rest of the team was a bit more middling and the RBs that seemed like the safe element of the team looked far from safe. Losing Delanie Walker for the season is a big blow. This team pushed very close to spot 7, speaking of which…

7. IKSAN (1-0-0)

A healthy rise up the rankings for Coach Sherwood on the back of a solid win. The stars of this roster did what they were drafted to do and all look solid. I think we just saw Crowell’s ceiling though and, more alarming, that was definitely Henry’s floor. The bench proved there is no one to fall back on either.

6. Patistan (0-1-0)

A slight drop after the second lowest score in Week 1, which can be pretty much attributed to a horror show from Matthew Stafford, no one saw that coming. McCoy was a concern for a Bills team that just doesn’t look like they are going anywhere this year, on the upside the other RBs looked more involved in their respective offenses.

5. Dak Street Boys (1-0-0)

A very good opening win for a franchise looking for a new identity (and another one), putting up 131 points and taking the win. Contributors across the starting line-up are encouraging signals, but depth remains a big question mark. For now, no one will want to face this team (or a team with the same players but a different name…).

4. The Tuckfards (1-0-0)

An excellent win and the high score on the week, great start for Coach Merritt. The big names are living up to the billing but the star of the show was Peterson who looked like, well, himself, just 10 years ago. If he can keep pace behind a solid O-line in the capital, the core of this team could verge on matchup proof.

3. Tom’s Tyrants (1-0-0)

Overcoming some alarmingly quick fire scoring from ADRZ, this team pushed through for the win. Hogan and Burton were lead balloons, but should have bigger weeks on the horizon and the bench features some solid looking players as well. James Conner did his best Le’Veon Bell impression and, depending on how long Bell holds out, could be a big time contributor.

2. Gridiron Gang (0-1-0)

Not wanting to be too reactive to a Week 1 loss, Coach Stubbs holds his spot. A good score despite the loss of Fournette early in the game shows the depth this team is built on, as does being able to bench Roethlisberger and Landry. They look like a dangerous team, although they will be hoping for good news about Fournette’s hamstring.

1. Forge Flyers (1-0-0)

Stays at the top with a convincing win. The team performed as it was built; driven by RBs, with a playmaking QB and role-playing WRs – mission accomplished so far. Coach Leach will be keeping fingers crossed over Le’Veon Bell though, the Ravens won’t be playing the Bills every week.

2018: Draft Recap and Week 1 Preview

Join Co Host Chris Leach and the newly inducted hall of fame commissioner for the recap of the 10th annual LOC draft, league news, and a preview of Week 1.

2018 Power Rankings: Week 1

2018 Power Rankings: Week 1

Good evening LOC! Welcome to, not only the first power rankings of the season, but also the first to be personally conceived by your own EDOTLOCCA. And, just to put my own spin on things, power rankings will henceforth by compiled in descending order. Consider it a two pronged motivational attack: 1) everyone wants to know who is top, so you’re motivated to read on and 2) the lowest rank teams are now on a pedestal for all to see, so they’re motivated to prove me wrong!

Now, hot off what I would personally call our best draft yet; in a swanky new war room, with full attendance and with coach knowledge growing year on year, here are your post-draft power rankings leading up to week 1:

12. Bear Necessities

Unfamiliar territory for the experienced coach. This team can be summed up for me with a single question: other than David Johnson, are any of the WRs or RBs unequivocally atop their respective depth charts, and healthy, entering the season? Kelce is nice, but he is breaking in a new QB, Bear Necessities really need him to produce like last year.

11. Burdettinators

Another coach who would be expecting more. This teams upside is huge, but the floor is subterranean, Diggs might be the safest player on the team. Coach Burdett allowed himself to be seduced by upside, there are just too many reaches and dart throws and the flex position could be a nightmare week on week. This team will live or die by Watson at QB.

10. The Dream Team

When you start looking at teams to compile rankings and notice someone has already stashed 8 RBs, you sense an air of panic. Having said that, some solid WRs occupy the rest of the roster, but their upside is capped. The safe weekly floor that Brady and Ertz bring to the table saves this team.

9. IKSAN

FACT: it is impossible to have a team with Rodgers, Hopkins and Julio ranked in the double digits. Which is lucky, because the rest make for less pleasant reading. The starting RBs are subpar and the depth is bad, whilst running with Njoku as the only TE is risky entering week 1. This team needs its stars to shine bright, if only Bell was really still on the board in the third…

8. ADRZ

With the best streaming QB combo in the league, solid starting RBs and TE, this team has excellent foundations. The WR core may be the ultimate boom or bust group ever assembled, making them near impossible to rank, some weeks they will win games single handed, no doubt. Depth is lacking across the roster, meaning Coach Wells will need a good hit rate picking the boomers.

7. Cash4Gould

Another team built on upside, but with safer floors than the aforementioned. With the last slot in the draft, he will be relying on top picks Cook and Beckham to perform week in, week out. Good flex options will make for a hapapy selection problem and TE Graham could carry this team over the edge with double-digit TDs.

6. Southampton Narwhals

One of the better WR cores in the league from top to bottom, with some sneaky upside hidden on the bench. Elliott will be the driving force behind this team, but Ajayi could make for a surprising RB2 if he gets workhorse type carries. Luck is the talisman that could make this team great, but RB depth could be the Achilles heel.

5. The Tuckfards

I’m not sure if anyone could have dreamed for a better start to the draft, being handed Gurley, Thomas and Allen on a plate. Outside of that the RBs have capped upsides and the WRs have low floors, but all the pieces are there for a competitive, but very top heavy, roster. Eifert is a risk.

4. Patistan

After watching RBs evaporate before his eyes in a second consecutive year, Coach Allen kept his cool and rode the wave. Brown and Gronk are as good as it gets, complete gamechangers, but LeSean McCoy could be the key here. If McCoy plays a full slate, this team becomes a contender, with others capable of filling the RB2 slot.

3. Tom’s Tyrants

I’m going to keep this short and sweet: my draft went near exactly to plan and my rankings are the basis of these rankings, so it is hard to fit me in fairly. Having said that RB2 could be a problem and this is potentially the worst QB room in the league.

2. Gridiron Gang

The RBs are the key here, as was proved by the championship winning Forge Flyers last year, drafting three solid RBs to ride for the season can take you great places. There is upside in the WRs, but they come with risk. QBs and TE are solid. A very balanced team that highlighted Best Player Available mentality drafting. Also, the trade was fun.

1. Forge Flyers

Not going to lie, I really didn’t want to put the reigning champion top, but here we are. Following last year’s example, three RBs in the first three rounds was the clear strategy and it paid off. Caveat: they are not as good as last years group, but they are still pretty great. Low upside WRs and TEs has the potential to hold them back, but Russell Wilson was an excellent acquisition and this team will consistently have 100+ points set in their sights.

PS. Congrats for making it to the bottom and the intro will never be that long again, promise. Good luck!