2019 Week #14 Discussion

[Vic Carucci]

GAME OF THE WEEKWest Virginia (12-0-0, PR 103) at Newark (10-2-0, PR 93)West Virginia is favored by 2 points.56 degrees, 15mph, Rain.

WORTH WATCHINGReno (6-6-0, PR 71) at Iowa City (8-4-0, PR 82)Iowa City is favored by 8.5 points.44 degrees, 10mph, Fair.

WORTH WATCHINGMurfreesboro (8-4-0, PR 86) at Georgia (5-7-0, PR 72)Murfreesboro is favored by 4 points.68 degrees, 0mph, Fair.

WORTH WATCHINGOakland (9-3-0, PR 88) at Montreal (4-8-0, PR 71)Oakland is favored by 5.5 points.27 degrees, 13mph, Snow.

WORTH WATCHINGChicago (4-8-0, PR 64) at Lawrence (9-3-0, PR 95)Lawrence is favored by 14.5 points.23 degrees, 10mph, Snow.

REGIONALLY TELEVISEDVermont (4-8-0, PR 64) at Norfolk (11-1-0, PR 100)Norfolk is favored by 15.5 points.50 degrees, 9mph, Fair.

REGIONALLY TELEVISEDPortland (9-3-0, PR 91) at Madison (4-8-0, PR 61)Portland is favored by 9 points.45 degrees, 0mph, Fair.

REGIONALLY TELEVISEDSt. Louis (5-7-0, PR 67) at Texas (6-6-0, PR 71)Texas is favored by 5 points.68 degrees, 0mph, Fair.

REGIONALLY TELEVISEDPennsylvania (7-5-0, PR 81) at Fresno (3-8-1, PR 67)Pennsylvania is favored by 4.5 points.58 degrees, 3mph, Fair.

REGIONALLY TELEVISEDTulsa (10-2-0, PR 95) at Louisiana (3-9-0, PR 58)Tulsa is favored by 7 points.42 degrees, 2mph, Fair.

REGIONALLY TELEVISEDVancouver (8-4-0, PR 84) at Wichita (3-9-0, PR 63)Vancouver is favored by 7.5 points.22 degrees, 10mph, Snow.

REGIONALLY TELEVISEDLittle Rock (3-9-0, PR 62) at Houston (6-6-0, PR 76)Houston is favored by 10 points.68 degrees, 0mph, Fair.

REGIONALLY TELEVISEDOrlando (3-9-0, PR 63) at Hartford (4-8-0, PR 70)Hartford is favored by 7 points.29 degrees, 2mph, Fair.

REGIONALLY TELEVISEDLos Angeles (4-7-1, PR 68) at Dakota (4-8-0, PR 61)Los Angeles is favored by 0.5 points.7 degrees, 8mph, Fair.

REGIONALLY TELEVISEDSalt Lake City (2-10-0, PR 57) at Cleveland (7-5-0, PR 83)Cleveland is favored by 13 points.51 degrees, 17mph, Rain.

DON'T BOTHERLansing (2-10-0, PR 56) at Anchorage (8-4-0, PR 81)Anchorage is favored by 13 points.68 degrees, 0mph, Fair.

[Vic Carucci]

TEAM	ROSTER	OFF	DEF	REC	WINPCT	OPPREC	OPPPCT	PWR RTG	LAST RNK	RTG CHG
West Virginia Beasts	80.5	85.0	91.3	12-0-0	1.000	66-77-1	0.462	102.87	1	+1.45
Norfolk Vipers	81.2	89.3	75.4	11-1-0	0.917	75-69-0	0.521	100.17	2	+1.07
Lawrence Phantoms	77.2	102.2	58.6	9-3-0	0.750	86-58-0	0.597	95.22	3	-3.06
Tulsa TigerHawks	77.6	94.9	68.4	10-2-0	0.833	71-73-0	0.493	94.74	4	+1.16
Newark Bulldogs	88.1	94.2	80.4	10-2-0	0.833	55-89-0	0.382	92.55	5	-0.96
Portland Seals	85.7	89.0	80.3	9-3-0	0.750	65-76-3	0.462	90.82	6	-2.57
Oakland Assassins	71.5	86.4	60.3	9-3-0	0.750	74-70-0	0.514	88.44	8	+3.14
Murfreesboro Mules	87.2	83.3	69.7	8-4-0	0.667	71-71-2	0.500	86.18	7	-3.24
Vancouver Killer Whales	81.2	75.3	78.5	8-4-0	0.667	67-77-0	0.465	83.82	11	+1.56
Cleveland Clawz	75.8	74.0	70.9	7-5-0	0.583	82-62-0	0.569	82.52	12	+2.83
Iowa City Snipe Hunters	79.3	76.1	67.1	8-4-0	0.667	65-78-1	0.455	81.81	13	+2.36
Pennsylvania Lions	72.4	84.6	72.3	7-5-0	0.583	71-72-1	0.497	81.23	10	-1.57
Anchorage Lynx	80.5	75.6	70.6	8-4-0	0.667	59-82-3	0.420	80.80	9	-4.28
Houston Renegades	67.9	76.0	58.2	6-6-0	0.500	79-63-2	0.556	75.89	14	-1.67
Georgia Generals	81.9	76.7	66.7	5-7-0	0.417	71-73-0	0.493	71.93	19	+2.67
Texas Trojans	70.5	73.4	66.4	6-6-0	0.500	62-82-0	0.431	71.45	18	+1.82
Reno Wolfpack	73.3	68.5	65.7	6-6-0	0.500	64-80-0	0.444	71.29	15	-1.62
Montreal Firebirds	87.7	76.4	67.7	4-8-0	0.333	79-64-1	0.552	71.18	20	+2.49
Hartford Whalers	80.5	68.8	57.5	4-8-0	0.333	88-56-0	0.611	70.23	21	+2.74
Los Angeles Matadors	75.5	61.3	78.1	4-7-1	0.375	72-71-1	0.503	68.49	22	+1.42
St. Louis Cardinals	69.3	61.8	74.8	5-7-0	0.417	64-78-2	0.451	67.26	16	-2.74
Fresno Warthogs	88.0	69.0	67.6	3-8-1	0.292	75-68-1	0.524	66.68	17	-3.20
Chicago Crusaders	54.2	60.9	57.5	4-8-0	0.333	81-62-1	0.566	64.22	24	-1.80
Vermont Mountaineers	75.8	72.1	67.4	4-8-0	0.333	61-83-0	0.424	63.69	23	-2.59
Wichita Outlaws	73.1	65.0	58.3	3-9-0	0.250	82-62-0	0.569	63.16	30	+4.70
Orlando Pirates	63.7	66.1	61.1	3-9-0	0.250	81-63-0	0.563	62.56	26	-1.69
Little Rock Toads	62.8	65.9	61.8	3-9-0	0.250	79-65-0	0.549	61.92	29	+3.28
Dakota Spirit	64.3	74.5	60.9	4-8-0	0.333	58-85-1	0.406	61.34	25	-3.15
Madison Demons	70.8	51.9	63.5	4-8-0	0.333	68-75-1	0.476	61.22	28	+2.23
Louisiana Voodoo	66.7	50.0	67.3	3-9-0	0.250	71-71-2	0.500	58.05	27	-1.45
Salt Lake City Stallions	67.6	59.8	64.3	2-10-0	0.167	78-66-0	0.542	57.39	32	+1.47
Lansing Ogres	68.0	62.7	62.5	2-10-0	0.167	72-71-1	0.503	56.03	31	-0.74

[tarcone]

League isnt NC dominated anymore. AC is HOT! HOT!HOT!:dancemonkey:

[tarcone]

Cy knows the recipe to a division title.

Tims got Texas back to where they belong. 500.

I thought Orlando and Vermont would be players this season. Or at least spoilers.

A 2 horse race in the West. Jave looks to have found something.

[Trivia Bytes]

A short week, a short write-up.


Playoff picture … the refocus after Week 13 (what changed):

NATIONAL CONFERENCE

The North: Pennsylvania – division champs and they will host a wild card game. Their game on Thursday vs. Fresno has no playoff implications.

The South: Tulsa - division champs. At this point, they should earn a bye in the first round. It is still too early for them to claim home field advantage and therefore all of their remaining games have playoff implications. This week, they visit Louisiana.

:arrow: The East is officially in turmoil after Lawrence’s second loss.

The Phantoms should rebound this week against Chicago, a team with a five game losing streak.

The Bulldogs however host undefeated West Virginia in the Game of the Week. For the third straight week, the IFL has scheduled a blockbuster to lead the card of games. But back to the game this week. Both teams have played some common opponents and have easily handled the likes of Hartford, Chicago, Orlando. Newark had the bigger winning margins. Also, both teams have faced Lawrence … Newark lost twice to the Phantoms. West Virginia beat the Phantoms in Week 2. Newark’s only other quality win is against playoff bound Pennsylvania. West Virginia has wins against Norfolk, Cleveland, Iowa City and Houston … all teams that have playoff aspirations. The game will be palyed in Newark and rain is predicted. Neither team has a significant injury. West Virginia leads the American Conference in points allowed, especially notable in that the AC is a conference that seems to focus more on the defensive-side of the ball. But Newark leads the National Conference in the same category. The Bulldogs’ points allowed are somewhat higher than the Beasts. This is probably an anomaly because the Beasts find themselves in a conference that features multiple run and shoot offensive driven teams. So where does all this gibberish leave us for this game. We firmly believe that the key to the game will come down to the signal callers. The seasonal play of Dwight Burger and Deron Markel have not been as consistent as you would expect despite the shiny W-L records that both teams boast. Whichever QB shows up with his “A” game should also take home the win.

:arrow: The West … it is still open season for a champion to be crowned. After its come from behind victory over the Phantoms, Oakland may have found itself celebrating a little too much with the sparkly grape juice in the locker room. Rightfully happy, they couldn’t quite figure out what that strange feeling was. But now after taking a new look at their division standings, they found those pesky Killer Whales still right up tight against their rear ends.

With that said, both NC-West teams better watch out for an ambush this weekend when they both visit the AC- East. Beware Vancouver: Wichita has finally put together two wins in a row, including the upset win last week over Anchorage. Beware Oakland: Montreal has a four game win streak and arguably has one of the best rosters in the league. And now, after a miserable start (where five losses were by 3 points or less), the Fire Birds may be one of the best teams in the league. We would not be surprised if both Oakland and Vancouver come home with bad tastes in their mouths.


AMERICAN CONFERENCE

:arrow: The North – this division championship run should be recorded because its replay will be vintage. The players: Iowa City and Cleveland. This week has Salt Lake against Cleveland Reno pairing off against Iowa City. Cleveland should not have a problem against the Stallions. Iowa City will have the stiffer test. The Snipe Hunters just hope it is not in the rear end.

:arrow: The South – we still think that Houston is very much in the hunt for the division title and that Murfreesboro should not take their two game lead for granted. The Mules face an underperforming but very dangerous Georgia team. Houston should have no issues at all in Little Rock.

:arrow: The East – see game of the week discussion above for West Virginia. Norfolk, who comes off of wins vs. Lawrence and Portland, get a breather this week against Vermont. If one projects a win for the Vipers, they could easily find themselves tied record wise with the Beast after Thursday.

:arrow: The West – Portland and Anchorage both lost last week. Portland visits Madison, They should get back on track. Lansing visits the Lynx. The Lynx should get back on track as well.

The Byes:
West Virginia or Norfolk will get a bye and home field advantage depending on which team wins the East. We still think it is a wide open race for the other bye.

[Matt]

short eh?

Cleveland should not have a problem against the Stallions. Iowa City will have the stiffer test. The Snipe Hunters just hope it is not in the rear end.

hahaha

great work TB!

I'm really hoping our homefield helps us out here. We need this win to stay 1 game ahead of Lawrence.

[r00k]

Just noticed that many of the games this week are being played in crappy weather ...

WV-Newark, SLC-Cleveland in the rain.

Oak-Mon, Chi-Law, Van-Wic in the snow!

[r00k]

.... and as for that "breather vs. Vermont." Baloney I say. There are really no breathers in this league especially against a GM like Coder. The Vipes will be preparing in their usual fashion.

After my game, I am really looking forward to watching all of the games this week. Think I will start with the one being played in Newark.

[Matt]

It's getting to be late in the year.
I'd love nothing more than having sloppy games in Newark come playoff time!!!

[JesterBlaze]

I'm really hoping our homefield helps us out here. We need this win to stay 1 game ahead of Lawrence.

I'm feeling pretty confident based on schedule. I'm actually only 1/2 game back and have a solid tie-breaker edge, no? I was undefeated in the NC before the OAK game so just guessing I have tie breakers on my fellow NC'ers.

[Matt]

wouldn't be a half game because we've all played equal amount of games.

We have a 1 game lead on you. Should you gain a game on me between now and teh end of the year, you would be ahead of me based on head to head

[tarcone]

A loss knocks Lawrence frimly int eh wild card. Road trip all the way to the end.

A loss by Newark gives me breathing room. Not an enviable task ahead. Good luck.

A loss by both Lawrence/Newark and a Tulsa win would be a great feeling.

I feel I could lose.

[Kozure]

Beasts-Bulldogs -- biggest non-conference matchup of the year, i think. A few teams would like to see both of us lose this one.

r00k, regardless of what happens this week, I think it's going to come down to our Week 17 game. Winner of that one takes division.

[r00k]

Beasts-Bulldogs -- biggest non-conference matchup of the year, i think. A few teams would like to see both of us lose this one.

r00k, regardless of what happens this week, I think it's going to come down to our Week 17 game. Winner of that one takes division.

That would be awesome bro. It sure would be a great finale to the regular seaon. GL on Thursday night! (fingers crossed behind my back)

[Matt]

lol