THE FINAL WEEK: 2018

[Trivia Bytes]

THE FINAL WEEK: Week 17, 2018

WARNING: We think the information below is accurate but will not take responsibility for the game’s AI decisions. We also encourage that for GMs also check for accuracy of scenarios presented and request that any discrepancies found be posted. Thank you and good luck to those still in the fight.

American Conference Observations:

In the NORTH, Cleveland, Montreal and Iowa City can still win the division fair and square. Here are the variant possibilities:
Cleveland can claim the division with a win.
Montreal can claim with a win and a Cleveland loss.
Iowa City can claim with a win over Cleveland and a loss from Montreal.

In the SOUTH, Murfreesboro has won the division and will be hosting a wild card game in the first round of the playoffs.

In the EAST, Norfolk has won the division and is the #1 seed in the AC playoffs.

In the WEST, Fresno and Portland are still in the hunt for the division championship.
Portland, can claim by winning or with a Fresno loss.
Fresno must win and Portland must lose.

WILD CARD SCENARIO (revised per discussion below)

:arrow: Cleveland win, Montreal win, Iowa loss, Portland loss – Cleveland is East champ, Montreal is wild card.
:arrow: Cleveland loss, Montreal win, Iowa win, Portland loss – Montreal is East champ, Iowa City is wild card.
:arrow: Cleveland win, Montreal loss, Iowa loss, Portland loss – Cleveland is East champ, Portland is wild card.
:arrow: Cleveland loss, Montreal loss, Iowa win, Portland loss – Iowa is East champ, Portland is wild card.

#2 BYE SCENARIO: (revised per discussion below)

Portland claims with a win; Cleveland claims with a win and a Portland loss; Montreal claims with a win and a Portland loss; Iowa claims with a win, a Montreal loss and a Portland loss.



National Conference Observations:


In the NORTH, Pennsylvania has won the division and has locked up the #1 seed.

In the SOUTH, Tulsa and Georgia is a race too close to call. It may come down to the “chad” count! Both teams won in week 16, but the game’s AI leapfrogged Tulsa ahead of Georgia. Go figure ... we are taking a pass to decipher. Either team can claim the championship with a win and their rival’s loss. If both win … we just don’t know what the final “chad” count will be.

In the EAST, the game’s AI has not crowned Lawrence as champion. We cannot find any scenario where this should not be true. So, unless there is a comment from the peanut gallery, we believe that Lawrence has clinched.

In the WEST, pretty simple here ... the championship game is already on the books with winner of the that game taking home the division championship – good luck to Salt Lake City and to Oakland. It should be a great game. Interesting that the game AI has Oakland already out of it!


WILD CARDS SCENARIO:

:!: The loser of the AC South, either Tulsa or Georgia, have done enough to claim the first wild card.

:?: That leaves Madison, Vermont and Newark still in the race for the last one berth in the NC.

:arrow: Madison win, Vermont win, Newark loss – Vermont is wild card.
:arrow: Madison loss, Vermont win, Newark loss – Vermont is wild card.
:arrow: Madison win, Vermont loss, Newark win – Madison is wild card.
:arrow: Madison loss, Vermont loss, Newark win – Newark is wild card.

#2 BYE CENARIO:

Lawrence cashes in with a win.
Georgia claims with Tulsa loss and Lawrence loss.


AND THERE YOU HAVE IT! It has been a great season and looks to produce an outrageous group of playoff teams.

[jeffrey]

Don't I have the tiebreaker over Montreal and Cleveland (for both the WC and the bye) by virtue of the head-to-head victory over both?

[Hoosier]

We will beat Fresno...I guarantee it....

[Trivia Bytes]

Don't I have the tiebreaker over Montreal and Cleveland (for both the WC and the bye) by virtue of the head-to-head victory over both?

thank you ... you may have something there ... revised as we now think it will go.

If Portland wins, automatically in because of division championship. If Portland loses and Fresno loses, Portland still champ, but if Fresno wins, Fresno champ and:

WILD CARD SCENARIO

:arrow: Cleveland win, Montreal win, Iowa loss, Portland loss – Cleveland is East champ, Montreal is wild card.
:arrow: Cleveland loss, Montreal win, Iowa win, Portland loss – Montreal is East champ, Iowa City is wild card.
:arrow: Cleveland win, Montreal loss, Iowa loss, Portland loss – Cleveland is East champ, Portland is wild card.
:arrow: Cleveland loss, Montreal loss, Iowa win, Portland loss – Iowa is East champ, Portland is wild card.

#2 BYE SCENARIO:

Portland claims with a win; Cleveland claims with a win and a Portland loss; Montreal claims with a win and a Portland loss; Iowa claims with a win, a Montreal loss and a Portland loss.

PLEASE CHECK THIS NEW SCENARIO. Thanks.

[Kobeck]

Would love a Seal WC scenario - lol

[Argot]

ugh....nothing to play for after two solid wins...I guess we'll try to just avoid a losing season at this point...good luck to Jave and Vito.

[sidewinder66]

so that means I get a "playoff game" this week without going to the playoffs, nice.

[Trivia Bytes]

so that means I get a "playoff game" this week without going to the playoffs, nice.

YEA, looks like there are two such "playoff games" this week where the winner advances and the loser goes home.

Salt Lake City at Oakland

Iowa City at Cleveland

Newark vs. Vermont is almost a game like this ... at least for Vermont ... if they win, they advance; however, Newark needs a little help from Madison's opponent, Dakota, if they want to advance after a win.

In any case, there are three great games for the final week of regular season

[Matt]

never thought i'd be cheering for dakota....

[Kobeck]

Go Lynx!

[tarcone]

Here it is Beez and TB. Straight from the NFL:

TO BREAK A TIE WITHIN A DIVISION

If two or more clubs in the same division finish with identical records, the following steps will be taken until a champion is determined.

Two Clubs 1. Head-to-head (games between the clubs). 2. Best won-lost percentage in games played within the division. 3. Best won-lost percentage in common games. 4. Best won-lost- percentage in games played within the conference. 5. Strength of victory. 6. Strength of schedule. 7. Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed. 8. Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed. 9. Best net points in common games. 10. Best net points in all games. 11. Best net touchdowns in all games.

The NFC South is down to tie breaker #3. Tulsa is 6-2 and Georgia is 5-3 in common games.

If the game follows this. If I win our game against LR, we win the division.

[Matt]

are FOF playoff tie breakers the same as NFL?
I thought for some reason that they were different.

take my situation with Georgia. SHould we have identical records at the end of the year, who would win that tie-breaker? Based on the above statement, we would win because we beat them in a head to head matchup.

[tarcone]

You would be correct, Matt. Here is the tie breaker for WC in seperate divisions:

Two Clubs

1. Head-to-head, if applicable.
2. Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference.
3. Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games, minimum of four.
4. Strength of victory.
5. Strength of schedule.
6. Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed.
7. Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed.
8. Best net points in conference games.
9. Best net points in all games.
10. Best net touchdowns in all games.
11. Coin toss.

[Trivia Bytes]

TO BREAK A TIE FOR THE WILD-CARD TEAM
If it is necessary to break ties to determine the two Wild-Card clubs from each conference, the following steps will be taken.

1. If the tied clubs are from the same division, apply division tie breaker.
If the tied clubs are from different divisions, apply the following steps.

Two Clubs

2. Head-to-head, if applicable.
3. Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference.
4. Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games, minimum of four.
5. Strength of victory.
6. Strength of schedule.
7. Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed.
8. Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed.
9. Best net points in conference games.
10. Best net points in all games.
11. Best net touchdowns in all games.
12. Coin toss.

Three or More Clubs
(Note: If two clubs remain tied after third or other clubs are eliminated, tie breaker reverts to step 1 of applicable two-club format.)

1. Apply division tie breaker to eliminate all but the highest ranked club in each division prior to proceeding to step 2. The original seeding within a division upon application of the division tie breaker remains the same for all subsequent applications of the procedure that are necessary to identify the two Wild-Card participants.
2. Head-to-head sweep. (Applicable only if one club has defeated each of the others or if one club has lost to each of the others.)
3. Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference.
4. Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games, minimum of four.
5. Strength of victory.
6. Strength of schedule.
7. Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed.
8. Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed.
9. Best net points in conference games.
10. Best net points in all games.
11. Best net touchdowns in all games.
12. Coin toss

When the first Wild-Card team has been identified, the procedure is repeated to name the second Wild-Card, i.e., eliminate all but the highest-ranked club in each division prior to proceeding to step 2. In situations where three or more teams from the same division are involved in the procedure, the original seeding of the teams remains the same for subsequent applications of the tie breaker if the top-ranked team in that division qualifies for a Wild-Card berth.

[Trivia Bytes]

Matt, if a two club race, you are right; however, there seems to be a higher probability that there would be more than two clubs tied, and unless a team beat all of the other clubs, it moves to conference record for the tie breaker which is not Newark's strong point.