2018: Monsters of the Midway

We have crossed a critical juncture of the LOC season - we have now crossed the midway point of the regular season! 7 games down, 7 games to go. Co Host Chris Leach and Hall of Fame Commissioner, Commissioner Stubbs, look back at Week 7 and look forward to Week 8.

2018 Power Rankings: Week 8

2018 Power Rankings: Week 8

Hello, hello, hello! Week 8 is here ladies and gents and that means we have hit a couple of milestones! Firstly, we are officially half way through the regular season! That will make some of you eager with anticipation, and bring waves of relief that it is almost over to others – don’t worry we have all been there. But, the more important milestone, I haven’t missed a week of the article yet, halfway through and not one missed! You should all feel honoured but, in fact, I feel honoured to write these rankings, so please read on and I hope you enjoy!

12. Gridiron Gang (0-7-0) – Down 1

This has been coming; everyone knew it. I do not know the longest winless streak to start a LOC season off the top of my head, but it could be this one. They made some robust roster changes last week, but it didn’t really impact their weekly score and the Hyde trade appears to be bad news for Fournette. So whose streak ends first, Gridiron Gang’s winless or Thielen’s 100 yard games…? Watch this space.

11. Patistan (1-6-0) – Up 1

They’re off the bottom! At this stage in their season, it may not mean a great deal, but a moral victory nevertheless. Kerryon Johnson finally looks to have broken out in Detroit and the Dallas trade may benefit Amari Cooper. This is the brightest this team has looked for a few weeks now, time to focus that into some wins.

10. Obi Wan Ganobi (3-4-0) – Down 1

It was a tough week for a team being suffocated by byes and injuries and they managed to pick up a respectable score, but they are losing ground in their division and now appear to be playing for a wildcard at best. If Carson and Jones suddenly get the snap share they deserve, this team becomes scary to play.

9. Forge Flyers (3-4-0) – Up 1

They snuck up the rankings despite the loss with a good weekly score. This team is far from the image Coach Leach built it in, their receivers seem to be carrying them. The Coach himself has gone so far to state that they will come back harder next year, it isn’t quite that severe yet, but they are in an ultra competitive division. They could really do with that RB they drafted second overall.

8. Jay Ya (4-3-0) – Down 1

Another win and they hold onto second in their division – on record and points scored. The Sunday morning pick up and plays of Blue and Anderson tell a different story though, a desperate act from a team bereft of depth. Thompson and Kupp returning will help and the Richard add could turn out nice.

7. Bear Necessities (4-3-0) – Down 1

Hmm tricky one, they had some good players who just didn’t have good weeks. The Michel injury hurt, not only in a week where they lost by 5 points, but also if it causes him to lose steam in the NE backfield. One door closes and another opens though, Marlon Mack finally seems to be making the most of the Luck factor.

6. Burdettinators (3-4-0) – Down 1

Every time I want to move this team up a bit, they seem to struggle a bit. I still love the team and the Jeffery trade is going to benefit them down the line for sure. They are going to need to start turning some potential into some wins, Jeffery could be the key, but Diggs could also start helping out a bit more.

5. IKSAN (5-2-0) – Up 3

The biggest movers on the week, IKSAN move to 5-2 and stay very much in the title hunt in their division. The score on the week wasn’t very impressive (they were lucky), but this boost more reflects the trade. Acquiring James White instantly improves this team (can I claim some credit for that??) and Njoku’s continued emergence is another bonus.

4. The Dream Team (5-2-0) – No Change

Alone at the top in their division in what is more or less a two horse race, The Dream Team continue to consistently put up points across the line up. Kamara’s 30+ point games may be behind him with Ingram back, but his weekly upside remains huge. They are closing in on the top 3 who have seemed distant for most of the season.

3. The Tuckfards (4-3-0) – No Change

Coach Merritt (jokingly) suggested renaming his team the LA Rams, he wasn’t that far from the truth however. This team is still crazy dangerous week on week, but they don’t look as strong as they did early in the year. They have a huge matchup against ADRZ this week, it’s the biggest game of the season so far in terms of the playoff race.

2. Tom’s Tyrants (5-2-0) – Down 1

After a (very) brief stint at the top, they drop down slightly, but the change is more attributed to ADRZ moving up. You could more or less argue either way for the top 2, much like the bottom 2, but the uncertainty around Conner’s remaining season is a black mark on this roster – as is Week 8’s bye situation.

1. ADRZ (5-2-0) – Up 1

I mentioned the key matchup with The Tuckfards coming up this week, ADRZ have the chance to take a stranglehold on a playoff spot. It has been a slow and steady climb to the top of the rankings for Coach Wells, but it is well deserved now they are there. His uncanny ability to make any waiver wire add a viable starter is always a bye week boost, Tyrell Williams people.

2018: We're back from the bye

The LOC Report is back after their bye week, it is bye week season after all! And the team is at full strength, returning with stalwarts Commissioner Stubbs and Co Host Chris Leach. We look back at Week 6, and preview the Week 7 wembley weekend. We're in our brand new studio, and also have a wembley surprise...

2018 Power Rankings: Week 7

2018 Power Rankings: Week 7

Welcome coaches! Another week in the books and another step closer to clarity. Well, one of those statements was true. We have gone from ¾ of the teams sitting at 3-2 to 10/12 sitting at or above .500, at this rate there is going to be a league-wide fight for the wildcard come Week 14. On top of the exceptionally close records, we got some pretty high scoring games this week too, with 9 teams going over the 100 point mark. Special condolences to Coach Merritt, who was winning until the final seconds of Monday night’s game, and then he wasn’t, tough break. Onto the rankings…

12. Patistan (1-5-0) – No change

One week after picking up their first win, Patistan posted the low score on the week. Their glimmer of hope exists, but my, is it dull. It was mentioned, perhaps correctly, that Coach Allen wasn’t deserving of bottom spot last week, but I just don’t see the potential in this squad to lift them any higher. Safe to say, Gronk won’t be going in round 2 next year.

11. Gridiron Gang (0-6-0) – No Change

As alluded to above, Gridiron Gang hold onto their spot, despite a slightly worse record than Patistan. The potential return of Fournette and Hilton, plus Coach Stubbs Jr.’s penchant for deep dives on the waiver wire keep them one notch off the bottom. However, with the teams rooted to the bottom of the league, to borrow and overused Madden idiom; rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

10. Forge Flyers (3-3-0) – Down 1

Unlucky to come up against the high scorers but, they were never getting close this week. Scraping above the 100 mark thanks to an utterly unrepeatable DST performance isn’t enough to hold onto single digits in the rankings. Coach Leach will hope for less disappearing acts from Cook, Brown and Hyde in the future.

9. Obi Wan Ganobi (3-3-0) – Down 3

This team suddenly feels a far stretch from the No. 1 seed they held only 3 weeks ago, with the wins drying up the low points scored (10^th in the league) has been highlighted. I said at the start of the season that their first two picks would be critical, well Cook has hardly played and Beckham has been way more cold than hot.

8. IKSAN (4-2-0) – Up 2

A big (and dramatic) win for IKSAN, but this is another team whose points total lacks compared to those around them. This team is begging for a RB that is going to get some kind of consistent volume, it is an obvious weak link. Alshon Jeffery looks like pretty hot trade bait sat on that bench…

7. What JuJu Mean (3-3-0) – Down 3

I called them up and down last week and I stand by it. Last week wasn’t a particularly bad week, but they are currently the No. 7 seed and the teams above them are starting to gain some steam. Ebron is the most consistently good TE in the league – that is a weirdly strong advantage in any given matchup.

6. Bear Necessities (4-2-0) – Up 2

Back to winning ways and currently in possession of what will be a very hotly contested wildcard. This team is looking more and more complete with strong waiver wire additions in Mack and Boyd. Another team that has put together a solid QB room to choose from each week.

5. Burdettinators (3-3-0) – Up 2

This team is starting to mould into the vision I am sure Coach Burdett had on draft day, but they are still looking for more contributions on a weekly basis. Barkley is incredible, but just like in NY, he is going to need more help. There is plenty of this talent on this team to do just that though.

4. The Dream Team (4-2-0) – Up 1

Another good (but not great) week, led to the win by the pass catchers. What is encouraging is that Kamara will only have one bye week and now Coach Nathwani has one RB slot filled for the remainder of the year, what is not is that there are still two RB slots. The roster finally seems to be offering some options at least though.

3. The Tuckfards (3-3-0) – Down 2

They held out for as long as they could, but The Tuckfards finally drop off the top of the rankings. They were without Thomas last week and Allen has been less than impressive in recent weeks. Gurley is clearly going to keep being MegaGurley, and Cousins will put the team on his back some weeks, but the rest of this team seems to be in a bit of a slump.

2. ADRZ (4-2-0) – Up 1

They were the high scorer on the week and find themselves back into the top 2 as the (matching) No. 2 overall seed. I was concerned about having multiple eggs in the KC basket, but that is clearly going to win Coach Wells some weeks. Having put up 700.00 (what are the odds??) points in 6 weeks, they are clearly going to be more boom than bust, watch out.

1. Tom’s Tyrants (4-2-0) – Up 1

Look, I really didn’t want to be in this position, but I blame the rest of you. The Tyrants are in the No. 1 spot as the high scorers and featuring one of the more consistent triplets in the league (Rivers, Gordon, Adams). Couple of tough bye weeks coming up could make or break that season.

2018 Power Rankings: Week 6

2018 Power Rankings: Week 6

Good evening folks! Yet another week goes by and yet again I find myself thinking; this league just gets better and better. The level of competition is outrageous and week on week we prove that there is no easy road to the playoffs. Nine teams are at 3-2, nine. That’s 75%. The whole Portsmouth Division, 3-2. I have no idea how this could happen but it has, and my rankings are getting harder and harder to write each week. Let’s see how we get on.

12. Patistan (1-4-0) – No Change

Nice one to Coach Allen for getting that first win on the board, the zero in the column was starting to look like a burden. Brown stepped up big time, and they will be hoping this is a sign of things to come, but until Gronk and the others follow suit, this team stays at the bottom for me.

11. Gridiron Gang (0-5-0) – No Change

Speaking of a burdening zero, our one remaining winless team people. They have had some rough luck; back to most points conceded and multiple injuries, but crucially this team is looking more and more underwhelming. It could just be my own pride (from the high post draft ranking) keeping them from spot 12 at this point, or it could be the eventual return of Fournette.

10. IKSAN (3-2-0) – No Change

They picked up the win and are now above .500 so you’d think they would move up the rankings, but wit the league in its current state, it just doesn’t work like that at the moment. Their giant question mark at RB looms as ever, but the rest of the roster is loaded with points, they are in a good position to climb.

9. Forge Flyers (3-2-0) – No Change

Another team that could feel aggrieved by staying put, the league is just too congested top to bottom. They knocked off the team that was (…could still be??) top of the rankings and they got Mixon back, which was key to last week’s win and any potential future ones. They didn’t score a lot of points elsewhere though, certainly not enough to install too much confidence.

8. Bear Necessities (3-2-0) – Down 1

The first time Coach Stubbs Sr. will have seen his team move backwards this year… although that is partly down to starting at the bottom. After a three game win streak, they lost their spot at the top of the division. Michel looks good and Johnson is looking closer to his former self, this team has got more wins in them.

7. Burdettinators (2-3-0) – Down 2

Technically the no. 10 seed, although arguably unlucky to find themselves there, it was hard not to bump this team down a couple. Still buoyed by one of the best RB cores in the league, they will be a danger to takeover any matchup and Watson seems to be finding his groove. Some consistency from the pass catchers and a kicker who, you know, makes kicks would help.

6. Obi Wan Ganobi (3-2-0) – Down 2

This team’s scores have now gone up every week of the season. Oddly, that has lead to less success in the win column and they have now fallen back into the main pack. They are the 9^th highest scorers and are still lacking reliable RB play, so they had to drop in the rankings, but OBJ finally showed up.

5. The Dream Team (3-2-0) – Up 3

I was low on this team to start the year, no denying that, but they have continued to prove me wrong. Adam Thielen has been godly, and I was even lower on him. The QB room is fighting Obi Wan Ganobi for best in the league and The Dream Team have now climbed to the number 2 seed. They would be higher if Kamara hadn’t just posted his worst score on the year with Ingram back.

4. Jamall About The Bass (3-2-0) – Up 2

Possibly the most up and down scoring team in the league claim another win in tight fashion. Their Thursday night Colts put them in a strong position, but the rest of the team only managed to limp over the line. The depth of this team still terrifies me, but their weekly scoring potential seems huge. Losing Ajayi could be huge.

3. ADRZ (3-2-0) – Down 1

A minor bump for a team that dropped below the 100 point mark for the first time this season. A couple of tough matchups didn’t help, but ADRZ just looked a little off the pace this week, I have called them the ultimate boom or bust team before but, this week, the closest they got to boom was Tyler Lockett  with a 16.4 point outing.

2. Tom’s Tyrants (3-2-0) – Up 1

Reclaimed their spot from two weeks ago with the high score on the week. Ingram came back and did the job he was drafted for, although he won’t dominate the backfield touches like that week on week. With Le’Veon Bell looking like he will finally re-join the team, the James Conner days could be limited, that would hurt this team a lot.

1. The Tuckfards (3-2-0) – No Change

Finally, a bad week. I said they were looking vulnerable in the rankings last week, but they outdid that with a truly pedestrian score, despite Todd Gurley being his normal, unfairly good self. The talent on this roster is still so hard to ignore and they could gain Greg Olsen in Week 6, but this team is challenging me to drop them, they won’t get another chance.

2018: The hunt for Red October

The LOC has entered the second month of it's season, and teams will now be scrambling to produce a white hot Red October. Some of these teams will be building off the groundwork they've already laid, others will be looking to save their season. Co Host Chris Leach joins Commissioner Stubbs to look back at Week 4 and discuss the prospects of Week 5

2018 Power Rankings: Week 5

2018 Power Rankings: Week 5

Hey, hey gents! Week 4 is in the books and we are one quarter of the way to crowning our latest Corona Bowl champion! We lost our one remaining undefeated team last week (just), although we still have two 100% records of a different nature going strong. Early in the season, I think it is safe to say that our league gets more competitive year on year and the competitiveness of every fixture, every week is a sentiment of that. Any team could hit big any week! In short, I’m glad I’m not in charge of predictions anymore. So, without further ado…

12. Patistan (0-4-0) – No change

Patistan put up their highest score of the season last week, but unfortunately still fell comfortably short of the 100 point mark and ended up on the wrong side of another lopsided score line. They just haven’t been able to coax a big week out of anyone; even 1^st rounder AB has been distinctly average. Something has to change, or this position won’t.

11. Gridiron Gang (0-4-0) – Down 2

The teams below them are moving up, which means (anti-)gravity takes hold and Gridiron Gang fall (up). The Packers DST (nearly 1/3 of total score) masked a poor week for Coach Stubbs Jr. and they probably won’t even be on the roster after waivers. They can’t even hide behind the moniker of most points conceded anymore!

10. IKSAN (2-2-0) – Down 5

The big risers from last week are proving to be an ultimate yo-yo team. I have to take part of the blame for this for falling into the trap that will forever be known as Crowell, I was naïve, I apologise. At the same time, they did themselves no favours with putting up the low score on the week, losing by nearly 70 points and falling to the bottom of their division. Nuk looked darn good though.

9. Forge Flyers (2-2-0) – Down 2

Just clung on to a spot in the single digits, thanks to a good Week 4 score line. Good, but unsustainable that is, I’m looking at you Jared Cook. Maybe I am being too harsh, but this team was drafted to dominate in the rushing totals, with Russell Wilson being the X-factor, they are a far cry from that but the receivers are keeping them alive.

8. The Dream Team (2-2-0) – Up 3

Arguably overdue, but The Dream Team finally start climbing the table, 150+ points will do that for you. I have preached the unbalanced nature of this team over and over, but Kamara, Green and Thielen just keep performing. Coach Nathwani, a personal plea, stop with Peyton Barber, I am fed up of typing his name. Ingram is back this week too, could be interesting.

7. Bear Necessities (3-1-0) – Up 3

Keep winning and you will keep moving up the rankings! The fundamentals of power rankings cannot be argued with. The rise up the table can be linked intrinsically to the improved RB play, which is handy, because Ryan and Tate won’t be able to carry them to the victory every week.

6. Highway to Bell (2-2-0) – Up 2

High scorers on the week will normally boost you up the rankings slightly at least. But the monster 150 was nearly 60% Elliot, Kupp and luck, sorry I mean Luck, or do I…? Those score lines are unsustainable and minimal contributions from the other skill position players stop Coach Nunn climbing higher.

5. Burdettinators (2-2-0) – Up 1

Last week, I questioned whether they would miss McCaffrey; scratch that one up as a no. And underline it. A lot of these players are still boom or bust, but the RB room looks set for a good weekly floor and that will get them a long way in this league. At this point, they are my most likely team to keep climbing.

4. Obi Wan Ganobi (3-1-0) – No Change

If they still had a 0 in that loss column, things would have been different, as it is they are my second non-movers. They were only 12 yards away as well. They stay on top of the division, but all three teams below are one win behind with bigger points tallies. Aaron Jones looks to be emerging as a contributor.

3. Tom’s Tyrants (2-2-0) – Down 1

Could have dropped a touch further, but waiting to see more from the teams below. They still remain the second high scorers in the league, but have proved inefficient at turning that into wins. Is there anything left in the Saints’ backfield for Ingram to pick up?

2. ADRZ (3-1-0) – Up 1

They continue their steady climb and are now within touching distance of the summit. Is their shelf life limited with Doug Baldwin and Joe Mixon due to limit Lockett and Bernard’s roles in coming weeks? Perhaps, but ADRZ have made a living (and three Corona Bowl appearances) from finding diamonds in the rough in recent seasons.

1. The Tuckfards (3-1-0) – No Change

No change at the bottom, no change at the top. Could have been a different story if Obi Wan Ganobi had finished the job last night. Their lowest score on the season still and they are looking vulnerable compared to the freight train that started the season. Would have helped if they had stuck with Cousins of course…