Menace Mashup: MIISFFL Week 13

As is always the case, we here at Menace II Sobriety want to remind you that we do not settle for no puny 13 week regular season like some of these inferior fantasy football leagues, we forge ahead and play 14 weeks of hard-nosed tough fantasy football, where nothing is settled until the final gun on Monday Night (Tuesday morning) of week 14. 

OK, maybe that has been true in years past, but this year after 13 weeks we actually have a pretty good idea for the playoff picture in MIISFFL.  We already have one division all wrapped up as well as 2 more guaranteed playoff participants.  Let's take a look at the scenarios. 

Congratulations go to Gaz (Never Nudes) who has officially clinched his first ever division title (and second ever playoff berth) with his victory Patrick Deegan, the last guy who could have possible caught him.  With the Pub Dogs division all wrapped up, his matchup with second place KSo next week is essentially meaningless.  Even though KSo could tie him with a victory, Gaz's vastly superior division record as well as previous head to head win will preclude KSo from catching him.  The questions now is whether or not Gaz will rest his starters in anticipation of a playoff grudge match.  The world waits with restless anticipation...Gaz is the first MIISFFL player to earn any sort of monetary award also winning $25 for the division title.

Over in the Greene Turtles division, both JP and Zach have clinched at least wild card berths with their victories in Week 13.  Ron Mexico won a squeaker over the Extreme Team and Bo Knows Techmo dispatched a hapless Kinda Runny squad.  Even though both have clinched playoff berths, the division title and $25 prize is still up for grabs as JP is only one game behind Zach for the division lead.  A JP victory in week 14 combined with a Zach loss would give JP the division title as both teams would be 11-3 and JP would have the better division record.  For Zach, a victory over last season's champ Kent would not only be a fitting punctuation mark to the Supreme Being's season, but a division title regardless of what JP does.  As it stands, both squads are in the playoffs.

That means that there is still one more playoff berth up for grabs.  3 teams have a good shot at it, with with two more needing minor miracles.  At 7-6, Tom (the Extreme Team), Jeff, and KSo all need victories.  All currently are tied with division record.  Therefore, the more points they score, the better off they will be.  KSo plays Gaz, who might be resting his starters.  Tom plays JP, who is playing for a division title.  Jeff plays Patrick Small, whose season effectively ended 4 weeks ago.  All three will be scoreboard watching for sure.  At the moment, Tom is in the playoff position due to superior seasonal point total.  At 6-7, Nick and Patrick Deegan need minor miracles as they need victories and all of the above teams to lose.  Caputo's Corner (that would be the commissioner) is in the slightly more advantageous spot due to the superior point total over all of the teams in question.  Nevertheless, I need a lot to happen in order to pull this off.  Otherwise, I will be missing fantasy playoffs for the first time since 2006, before MIISFFL was even a twinkle in Caputo's Corner's eye. 

Now, if I had left AP on the bench 2 weeks ago when I played Gaz.......on second thought let's not revisit that one.

Let's take a look at the match recaps to see how we got into this position. 

The Supreme Team is all but eliminated from playoff contention after bowing  down to the Jeff Newman mom-bomb squad.  There will be a new champion in MIISFFL 2011.  Supreme Being (should I still keep using this moniker?) will get to enjoy his final days with the trophy as somebody else will be taking it from him in 3 short weeks.  In this matchup, a paltry 61 points is all the Supreme Team could muster as trade deadline acqusitions DeMarco Murray and  Matt Ryan could only score 15 points between them.  Jeff on the other hand received solid performances from MoJo Drew (who has mostly been MIA this year) and 4 other positions that scored in double figures to keep his playoff hopes alive.  There will be no repeat division title for Jeff, but a playoff spot is there for the taking with a matchup next week with cellar dweller Patrick Small on the schedule. 

As mentioned, Gaz's confidence is at an all time high as he clinches his first ever division title and #2 seed in the MIISFFL Playoffs with a 42 point smackdown over Patrick Deegan, whose season has all but ended.  Gaz's reliance on New York Giants pays off for a second week in a row as Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz have not only become Eli Manning's favorite targets, but the Nudes' biggest point producers.  It also helped that Marshawn Lynch contributed 29 for a surging Seattle squad and the 49er defense pitched a shutout over Kinda Runny...I mean the St. Louis Rams.  Patrick had been in a very tenuous first place in the Pub Dogs division over the last month, but losses in 3 out of his last 4 (oddly enough that one win came over Caputo's Corner) essentially sealed his fate as now Patrick is keeping track of the keepers for the 2012 draft. 

In the game with the most playoff implications, Ron Mexico keeps his hopes alive for the #1 overall seed squeaking out a 7 point victory over the Extreme Team.  Tom potentially had a chance at locking up the playoff berth and making week 14 a throwaway but San Diego's defense just could not lock down the Jaguars enough.  2 touchdowns and a bunch of Nick Novak extra points are all that Ron Mexico needed to reassert himself at the top of the heap going into the last week.  Tom will be scoreboard watching  and will need a win over JP (and enough points) to lock up his playoff berth. 

Speaking of JP, he keeps his hopes alive for a division title with a victory over Kinda Also-ranny.  The competitive portion of Patrick's season ended weeks ago while JP was positioning himself for a playoff run with key trades and deadline free agent acquisitions.  Unlike the Supreme Being, JP's deadline deals have so far paid dividends as Drew Brees hung a 30-burger on the Lions.  Rob Gronkowski might be in the running for the tight end MVP award as he scored another 27 to help in the effort.  As for Patrick, he just can't catch a break.  Yet, he somehow managed to upset Ron Mexico last week.  If you can explain how that happened I'd love to hear it.  That's why we fantasy!

The former champion and current commissioner kept his faint and fading playoff hopes alive scoring the KO of the week and a season sweep of Sean, blasting Unknown Quantity by 57 points.  It's amazing how much better your team scores when you don't start players who are out with injured ankles.  I have always been of the opinion that the number one pick is both a blessing and a curse.  I have "earned" the number 1 pick twice in my fantasy career: this season and in 2008.  I made the playoffs in 2008 as a wild card (predating MIISFFL) and this year I am below .500.  So it's easy to see why I feel like the number one pick is as much of a curse as it is anything else.  Perhaps I'd have better luck if I were on the cover of SI or even Madden.  Get Peter King on the phone! 

Finally this week, KSo has joined the squad at 7-6 after losing to draft board watcher Matt.  A win would have put KSo in excellent position to clinch the last wild card, but as it stands, he still has 2 other teams and a tall hill to climb in terms of points to overcome if  he wants to clinch his first ever playoff berth.  As it stands now, KSo has at least earned his first ever .500 season and his position at the bottom of the league has now be relinquished to the Kinda Alsorans.  Perhaps KSo will be a force to be reckoned with in seasons to come, assuming he does not sneak into the playoffs this year.  As for Matt, keep your head up buckaroo.  Unlike Shane Falco, you will be back for MIISFFL draft 2012

That's it on the recaps.  Let's take a look at the matchups for the final week of the regular season in MIISFFL 2011!

Kent-Zach (A passing of the torch perhaps?)
Nick-Matt (A battle of teachers just doesn't feel right with nothing on the line)
KSo-Gaz (Will Gaz rest his starters?)
Tom-JP (Tom fights for his playoff life as JP chases a division crown)
Patrick Small-Jeff (Will Jeff play like Ron Mexico when he had a chance to beat on the wounded duck?)
Patrick Deegan-Sean (Bragging rights mean more than you know)

Before we sign off today, let's take a look a the playoff scenarios for week 14!

Gaz has already clinched the Pub Dogs Division and JP and Zach have already clinched at least wild card berths.

Zach wins the Greene Turtles Division and #1 seed with a win.
JP wins the Greene Turtles and #1 seed with a win and Zach loss. 

Tom clinches a wild card with a win and superior point totals over Jeff and KSo.
KSo clinches a wild card with a win and superior point totals over Jeff and Tom.
Jeff clinches a wild card with a win and superior point totals over KSo and Tom.
At the moment, Tom leads in the points over these two. 

Nick clinches a playoff berth with a win and losses by Tom, KSo, Jeff, and Patrick Deegan along with superior point totals over all except Patrick.
Patrick clinches a playoff berth with a win and losses by Tom, KSo, Jeff, Nick along with superior point totals over all 4. 
At the moment, Nick leads in the points over all 5 teams in question. 

As odd as it may seem, it is not inconceivable that the Supreme Team can make the playoffs.  He would need a win and losses by EVERYBODY as well as outpointing EVERYBODY in order to do it.  However, Kent is about 150 points behind the contenders, but it is mathematically possible. 

Eliminated: Patrick Small, Sean, and Matt

Next week, playoff previews!