Hello and welcome back! Come on in and take a seat, your seat numbers are laid out before you below. Don’t give me grief if you’re sat near the back. With one day to go until the trade deadline it could potentially be risky to deliver the rankings now - though if history is anything to go off of any trades would involve me anyway, and whilst there are a few irons in the fire, nothing is close to materialising. And without further delay, the rankings!
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12. Buccing The Trend (1-8) - No change: As they say, a leopard can’t change its spots. The had a decent enough week last week, but just conceded a ton (again). To make matters worse the dynamic duo of Barkley and Jacobs are both contending with horrendous offensive situations. There is very little else around them on this team to compensate, and Coach Taylor just hasn’t had the same touch with the waiver wire this year. I still believe they’re good enough to win a few games to close the year, but if things continue they could be on track for the all time worst season in the LOC.
11. Forge Flyers (2-7) - up 1: Another ok performance by Coach Leach’s side last week, but they had the misfortune of facing off against a certain C.J. Stroud. There are shoots of optimism, and with a more free wheeling Coach Leach (which has always been when he’s at his best) could mean a better run to close the season. Hopefully Kyler will be the “third times the charm” for Forge Flyers QB room as well (that or Kyler may soon have a injury event that gives him a lot more time to play the new Call of Duty). This is enough for me to move them off the bottom.
10. Tom’s Tyrants (3-6) - down 3: I thought Coach Barnes had us all right where he wanted us. At 3-5, he was primed to kickoff one of the dramatic late season turnarounds we’ve seen from him multiple times before. And then the Tyrants lose a fairly winnable game in a key divisional bout. Burrow seems back to normal which is a plus, but outside of Allen and Kupp there is just nothing exciting on the roster, and even those two have cooled of late. It still wouldn’t surprise me to see a Coach Barnes turnaround, but the hill may be too steep to climb to make it amount to anything at this point.
9. U R Gould (7-2) - down 1: Oh the king is firmly back. A pretty grotesque week last week where they were completely bailed out by the Colts D of all teams (but credit is where credit is due, it was a great stream) and a low point output from their opponent. There is very little in the way of consistent and reliable options on this team right now, and they’ll have to be banking on AJ Brown, the special teams, defence and QB room to lead the way. Fields coming back could be a boost, or it could blow up spectacularly.
8. Thomas and Friends (2-7) - up 1: don’t look now, but Coach Nunn’s team have quietly notched 3 straight weeks of scoring 90+. Unfortunately for Coach Nunn they are 1-2 over those weeks, as they too have grappled with having a boat load of points dropped on them this year (2nd highest, one of two over 900 points conceded). I genuinely think TE FC could make some noise down the stretch though - their QB situation seems to have sorted itself out, and the full strength starting lineup is actually quite solid. Too late probably to make a playoff push, but they have the prime look of a berserker that could change the playoff race for others.
7. IKSAN (5-4) - up 3: If you’re counting that’s 2 must win games Coach Sherwood has come through on now this season, picking up a crucial win against Great Scott last week to keep themselves in the playoff race and hold back a playoff potential. Not necessarily a surprise from arguably the best GM in the LOC. They’ve got another must win on the docket with fellow playoff hopeful Burdettinators this week. IKSAN are sort of the standalone middle ground team in the LOC right now, as everyone else is either above 6-3 or below 3-6. A finally vintage Ekeler and seemingly back to full health and role Jones couldn’t have come at a better time for them, and they have enough other options they can cobble together. It would shock no one if they found a way to the playoffs.
6. Bear Necessities (3-6) - down 2: remember that reliable pick up truck I likened this team to in the power rankings last week? Yeah, the truck broke down, the engine caught fire, and it rolled off a cliff. This team is still decent, but it just doesn’t have the upside of the teams below on this list - and with quite a divide in records this year, that means most teams can probably just out muscle this side. But the floor should be enough to keep them competitive.
5. Patistan (7-2) - up 1: a top heavy last week lead be previous acquisition Stroud - but for me this just highlights the depth of this side, as he was playing due to Goff being on bye. This team is as deep as you’d like, but it does feel like the upside for a lot of these players has shrunk for one reason or another. Taysom Hill has capped their Saints players, Walker has been losing work to Charbonnet, and Taylor has seized the backfield from Moss. They’re still a good team though, and can certainly contend with any team in the league.
4. Burdettinators (6-3) - up 1: I really struggle with Coach Burdett’s team. Outside of Hurts there’s no stars on this team. Davante is the last man standing from Coach Burdett’s starter draft class, and they’d probably rather he went down over one of the others as he has just not produced of late. They have a lot of good options behind this either from later draft picks or the waiver which has been the lifeblood and is a great achievement by Ollie, but it just feels like the floor could fall out at any point. Until that happens though you can’t get away from them, as it hasn’t happened to this point.
3. Great Scott (6-3) - No change: what a difference a week makes. The 5 game win streak is over, and Coach Scott went from the 1st seed to not even in a playoff spot. That highlights how competitive the race at the top is this year. And in fairness to Geoff, Ben caught him on a good week as he had many byes to deal with. Half their roster is on bye this week because of Miami (I’m only semi joking here), but otherwise they’re looking strong. Foreman and Gibbs profile to take a step back with the return of their respective running back mates though - but White may be stepping up.
2. Gridiron Gang (6-3) - No change: I went from praying for 3 points to get the win last week, to having the highest weekly score with the Chargers dominant performance on MNF. Let’s not forget about Taysom Hill’s contribution either, or the fact that I was crazy enough to actually play him (even if my other choice Dell did slightly out perform him). But that comment I’ve previously made about lack of depth may be weakening - Hills usage may be here to stay as the Saints seem to be embracing the experience, Dell could be another usable piece, Monty is back and Herbert is coming off IR. If playoff Lenny hits I will be leaving a 5 star review for that crystal ball I ordered off of Amazon.
1. The Dream Team (6-3) - No change: The Dream Team pulled the opposite of Great Scott last week - they stumbled past Bear Necessities with 70 points, yet got the win and seized control of the division. The boom and bust flashy nature of this team will cause this to happen sometimes, but the upside of this team is too great to ignore. Mitchell was a savvy use of waiver funds for a high upside, low risk gamble too. They’re one of 2 teams over 900 points at this stage and for good reason - it’d be quite the surprise if they don’t make playoffs.
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And there we go - quite a split league at the moment it feels like, but there’s intrigue in every division and still an interesting playoff race - one we’re not accustomed to either, as it’s more of the “who blinks first” variety where even one loss could prove costly. Let’s see what week 10 brings…
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