Week 7 Playoff Picture

Playoff Picture

We're nearly at the halfway point of the regular season (6 weeks down, 7 to go), and it's never too early to start thinking about the playoffs. (Okay, there probably is a time when it's too early, and we may still be in this time, but it's fun to look at anyway.) If the playoffs began today, here's the breakdown. (We'll update this weekly from here on out.)

American Conference:

1. Fighting Cocks (5-1) – Owns the top spot by virtue of Division 2-leading 5-1 record and more total points than the Division 1-leading Pedros. Key matchup this week against the Pedros. Dark cloud: Has yet to face a team who currently has a winning record. (Opponents' record? 10-20)
   
2. Team Vote 4 Pedro (5-1) – Trails the top-seeded Cocks by about 70 total points, with a key H2H matchup this week likely factoring into the playoff-seeding picture. Dark cloud: Only managed a split with divisional foe The Legend of Bo and trails the other divisional foe, the Assassins, by nearly 180 total points.
   
3. Avalon Park Assassins (3-3) – Firmly settled into a playoff spot right now by way of total points; the Assassins have outscored the next closest team by over 100 points and have given the top-seeded Cocks their only loss. Dark cloud: All three of the Assassins' losses have come within the division, including a sweep at the hands of the Pedros.
   
4. The Legend of Bo (3-3) – Leads Estelle Getty's Boobs by 65 total points to slide into the last spot. Dark cloud: Among the league, only the hapless Ra-Tards have had a lower scoring game than the LOB's Week 5 65-point disaster.
   

Outside looking in:

• Estelle Getty's Boobs (2-4) – Being 3 games back in the record department (and 0-2 against division-leading Cocks) means this team needs to score big in the coming weeks. Trails the LOBs by 65 total points.
  
• Auburn Hills Alley Cats (0-6) – Getting in based on record is probably a lost cause, at this point. The Alley Cats trail 4^th-seed LOBs by a little over 100 points.
  

Oddity: If these rankings hold true, American Division 1 will send all three representatives to the playoffs.

National Conference:

1. Amesbury Lake Armadillos (5-1) – Holds a one-game lead over 2^nd-seeded Wings of Pastrami with a key H2H battle against them this week. Also leads the conference in scoring (despite a 79-point effort this week), so a playoff spot is looking good right now. Dark cloud: Has only a 1-game divisional lead over the Turtleheads and gained only a split in two H2H matchups against this divisional rival.
   
2. Wings of Pastrami (4-2) – Leads ND1 by two games, is 3-1 in the division, and is presiding over a 3-game winning streak. After a victory over the Turtleheads last week, a win against the Armadillos this week pushes the WOPs into the top seed. Dark cloud: A 1.6-pt heartbreaker to division foe Pricks might factor into the playoff picture.
   
3. Floating Turtleheads (4-2) – After a throttling of the division-leading Armadillos, the Turtleheads are now a game back in the division. They only trail the Armadillos by 11.5 total points and lead the 2^nd-seeded WOPs by about 4 total points. Dark cloud: 3 of 4 wins have come against teams with a losing record.
   
4. Afton Creek Monsters (2-4) – Two games off the mark, record-wise, the Monsters are in right now via their total score, which is 33.5 points better than the Pricks. This point spread over the Pricks was greatly aided by a 40.5 win over the Pricks in Week 5. Dark cloud: Faces only two more matchups against teams that currently have a losing record.
   

Outside looking in:

• Cottonwood Hills Pricks (2-4) – Two games back of the division lead and trailing the Monsters in total points. The Pricks face only two teams with a winning record (as of now) from here on out.
  
• Reflection Ra-Tards (1-5) – A four-game slide and back-to-back sub-55 point games means the playoff picture is bleak for this team no matter who you slice it. A matchup against the Pricks this week could provide a little momentum, though.
  

Oddity: Once again the American Division looks a little stronger than the National, as the National's best team, the Armadillos, has still scored about 51 points less than the American Division's #2 team and is only about 23 points better than the #4 seed from the American Division.

Interestingly enough, the schedule was set up to pit teams against their division early on, so all the games featuring divisional opponents are done. There are only a few games featuring teams from the same conference, so making up ground in the standings could become a little more difficult.