Tweet
:!:Week 14 provided a lot of good football.
:!:There are only three games left in the regular season, so things are getting a little tight in several areas.
But before we go there, we have researched a question posed by the Montreal GM as to how their 12 game win start compared in the record books. Below are the five fastest starts in the IFL.Number 5 -- 2005 Norfolk Vipers - won their first 10, ended the regular season 13-3.
Number 4 -- 2014 Lawrence Phantoms -won their first 10, ended 15-1.
Number 3 -- 2012 Texas Trojans, won first 11, ended 13-3, won Imperial Bowl.
Number 2 -- 2017 Montreal Firebirds won their first 12, season unfinished.
Number 1 -- 2010 Norfolk Vipers (won their first 13, ended 15-1).
Only Texas progressed to the Imperial Bowl.
C-Rex, there you have it. Now to the playoff picture.
American Conference Observations:
Teams out of the hunt: There have been no changes since the TEN WEEK REVIEW.Wichita, Louisiana, Houston, St. Louis, Hartford, Fresno and Los Angeles.
:shoot: SPRINT for a BYE: Montreal (12-1), Cleveland (10-3), Portland (11-2), and Murfreesboro (9-4).
Murfreesboro is most likely eliminated from this race. However, the Mules will host a game in the first round of the playoffs.
Montreal, Cleveland and Portland are still fighting for a first round bye.
:!:Montreal has the best record at 12-1 but also has had wins the toughest path as they will play three legit playoff contenders (Iowa City, Madison, and Cleveland).
:!: Portland, at 11-2, and with one more win, locks up a bye. Their schedule does not include anyone poised for a playoff berth ... so mark this one up. BUT, homefield advantage is not locked up ... so if the Seals want to play at home throughout the playoffs, they still need to bring the bacon.
:!:Cleveland is on the outside still looking in. Their loss last week did not help since Montreal also lost. The window is starting to close. Cleveland's next two games should not present much difficulty. There is a showdown game with Montreal in the last game of the season. All they need is for the Firebirds to stumble in that unstable bridge that the Firebirds are trying to cross.
oke: The Wild Card SCRUM: Five teams continue to grab and claw in the scrum for any type of leverage for the remaining two playoff slots (the championship of the AC/East and a wild card slot are at stake). Listed in the order of difficulty of remaining schedule (easiest to hardest): Anchorage, Iowa City, West Virginia, Boston and Norfolk. Anchorage (7-6) The Lynx only has one playoff caliber team remaining on their schedule (Vermont) but find themselves one game behind in the win column. In a head-to-head tie breakers: Anchorage would lose to Norfolk and Boston but win vs. West Virginia. Anchorage faces 3-10 Los Angeles this week. If they win, they are also hoping for a little help from their "friends."
Iowa City (7-6) The Snipe Hunters travel to Montreal this week and their continued hopes reside in a win. A loss should knock Iowa City out of the playoff picture.
West Virginia (8-5) The Beasts got beat up by Tulsa last week. There is not time to lick their wounds as tbe Vipers bring the league's current longest winning streak at eight. The winner of this game takes control of the division (at least for a week.)
Boston (8-5) Boston evened their record with West Virginia and Norfolk last week. Now, the Dragons face division foe Hartford. There are no easy games in this division and this game is in "the must win column" since Boston is third in the division and have Texas and Norfolk still on the schedule.
Norfolk (8-5) The Vipers continue to knock off playoff contenders ... Murfreesboro and now Georgia. But the true test of their mettle comes this week against the Beasts of West Virginia. Even though there is no love lost between these division rivals, both GMs have a great respect for the other's gameplanning abilities. This game should be a good one.
National Conference Observations:
Teams out of the hunt: One new team added to the list. Lawrence just could not get it done against up and coming Fresno. With a record of 6-7 and a bodacious remaining schedule, TB reluctantly adds this perennial power house to the O-U-T list. Dakota, Lansing, Lawrence, Little Rock, Orlando, Reno, Salt Lake City:shoot: SPRINT for a BYE: Pennsylvania (10-3), Tulsa (11-2) & Newark(10-3) and now Oakland has jumped in.
Newark lost to Portland. Tulsa beat West Virginia handily. Pennsylvania, at home, gave Montreal its first loss. Oakland is playing a sneeky Pete. We can't read these tea leaves quite yet.
:!:Newark seems to have the easiest remaining schedule (Orlando, Fresno and rival Lawrence) but are one game back.
:!:Tulsa leads all by one game but before you give then the nod, look at their schedule ... division rival Texas, then Norfolk and again in the division against hopeful Georgia.
:!:Pennsylvania also has a somewhat light schedule (Dakota, Wichita, but ends with a tough game versus Madison.
:!:Oakland is two games out but could be in the hunt if they can run the table against a pretty stout schedule of Reno, Murfreesboeo and Vancouver. This promotion for Oakland could be premature ... as they could face "The Perfect Storm" (see Vancouver discussion below).
oke:The Wild Card SCRUM: This leaves five teams still in the NC scrum -- looking to snatch one of three playoff berths (championship of NC/West and two wild cards) -listed in order of weakest schedule to hardest schedule: Vancouver, Vermont, Georgia, Texas, Madison.Vancouver (7-6) The Killer Whales lost to the Mules and now find themselves two games behind Oakland. Here is their scenario. The Whales MUST run the table (St Louis, Louisiana, and Oakland). Oakland MUST lose one of the next two games. Then, the win by the Killer Whales over the Devils in that last game of the season sets up a tiebreaker. Vancouver will win because of head-to-head record. The Perfect Storm for Oakland .. but we have already promoted Oakland and feel that they cannot F their bid for the playoffs .... but again, stranger things have happened.
Vermont (8-5) As we said last week, Vermont's chances to get a playoff bid continue to get stonger. The Mountainers still have some tough games ahead: Lawrence & Anchorage before meeting hapless Orlando in the final week.
Georgia (7-6) Georgia could very well have ended their chances with the loss to Norfolk, but mathematically, they are still alive. They have Little Rock this week and this could give them a repite in the schedule and allow some of the other teams to screw up.
Texas (9-4) Texas is hot and that could not come at a better time as they host the high flying Tigerhalks. Definately the game of the week. A win just about clinches a playoff berth for the Trojans.
Madison (8-5) The Demons showed their muscle against Cleveland last week. Now, there is Lansing. Madison can take a deep breath this week. Then things get tough again versus Montreal and Pennsylvania in the last week.
WOW, TB picked all six games correctly last week and now are 11 out of 13 since our WEEK 10 REVIEW. This week, there are only three games that feature a playoff hopeful on each side of the field. Here's what we think about the weekend lineup.
Iowa City at Montreal … last week Montreal lost its first game of the season and also lost their starting tight end. The Snipe Hunters have the #1 rated defense stat of total yards allowed. The game is at Montreal. Iowa's strength of schedule seems a little stronger to us. Wisdom says the Firebirds rebound and win at home ... we think otherwise and predicting an upset by the Snipe Hunters.
Norfolk at West Virginia … the black and blue division aka AC/East presents another headliner for this week. Warm up the heating pads & get those whirlpools going. The trainers will be working overtime after this game concludes. Even though the Beasts are at home, TB likes the looks of Norfolk continuing its win streak.
Tulsa at Texas … the heavyweight bout of the week. Both teams look on top of their games and both are bringing good win streaks into the game. The Trojans outplayed the Tigerhawks in game one but lost by 3. We think they will seal the deal this time at home.
Comment