Nighthawks Stumble
Playoffs Decided By Countbacks (Multiples)
Week Fourteen in the Subsim Fantasy Football league, and if you put your money on the favorites this week, you lost. We'll find out how the league leaders stumbled in the final game of the regular season to a team they had no business losing to - for a second time in four weeks. We'll find out which team backed their way into the playoffs after losing on the last play of the weekend and going to the countback, and we'll talk about the two teams that have just stormed through the league in the past four weeks, who will be meeting each other in the first round of the playoffs.
And if you thought you knew who was going to finish where, well, you and your crystal ball better come and put a team together because in the last thirty (30) minutes of football this weekend, the Associated Subsim Writers (ASW) had to rewrite and recalculate the final seeding five (5) times.
But before we do any of that, and just in case there's an Antonio Brown story looming, here's the most important message you need to hear today.
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When you're the "big dog" in the league, everyone wants to knock you off. Including the team with the leagues worst record. It's embarrassing when you loose to them once, but to do it a second time just weeks later - when the playoffs are on the line? Makes you question whether the Nighthawks can go all the way. Playing at home and still seething after recent losses where they lost to the Drunk Monkeys and had the smallest losing margin in the history of the league, the Nighthawks were hosting the Monkeys back in merry old England where you would think they would steamroll over them. Hold the phone though. This year we've been talking about the Black Cats possible being the best damm ghost team in the league - well the Monkeys put paid to that by defeating the league ladders for the second time in a few weeks. And this wasn't just a narrow win, this was a win of significant margin to disrupt the betting on the Nighthawks. At Wembley Stadium, where the Nighthawks have been unbeatable, The Drunk Monkeys defeat the home side 135 - 105. The Nighthawks secured a playoff berth last week, but the loss this week will need two (2) other games to be completed before final seeding.
In Oregon, our Match of the Day was the Who Dat Nation hosting the Black Cats. The Black Cats have exemplified "irritating", winning games this season they had no business doing so. The Who Dat Nation suffered at the hands of the Black Cats earlier in the season putting them in the position where they would have to go through the countback sequence with the league leaders. The Nation came ready ready to play, lead by Drew Brees (QB) who individually put up 56.06 points. And the Nation were going to need it 'cause the Black Cats brought their A game. Matt Ryan (QB) responded in kind with a 30.82 response, but that additional 20 points by Brees for the Nation would be the deciding factor. The Cats were valiant chasing down the Nation but ultimately fell short. Final score in Oregon, the Who Dat Nation win 158 - 134. The Nation would be waiting on the result of our final game for their final seeding.
The Guns of Hochuli had already secured the Sub Simmers division, the Australian Taipans were reminisce of the NFC (L)East, fighting for their lives with a possible losing record to make the playoffs. The Gunners started strong taking an early lead on Thursday with minimal points, but it was the Taipans running game that allowed them to retake the lead Sunday morning. The Gunners fired back with Austin Ekeler (RB) putting on an outstanding performance Sunday afternoon. The Taipans were marginally behind the Gunners with just Carson Wenzt (QB) to play for the Gunners and Zac Ertz (TE) for the Taipans. The Taipans closed the gap to within 1 point, and it looked like we were going to have another narrow margin winning performance, in this high scoring game. At the end of regulation time, the Gunners held a narrow three (3) point margin. On the last play of the weekend, Wenzt (QB) threw, surpassing 300 yards, to Ertz (TE) who didn't reach 100 yards. Guns of Hochuli win a thrilling high scoring game 187 - 176.
So with all those results and the implications therein, we have to take this apart piece by piece in order to achieve the right seeding. We'll start with what we knew before this weekend.
The Drunk Monkeys finish the regular season with three wins (two against the Nighthawks) and were eliminated from the playoffs beforehand. Their position doesn't change, they get grandstand tickets to the playoffs.
Everything else is up for grabs.
Now, before we get started, a moment to take note. The countback rules have been in place since the league started. This is the first time in the history of the league we've had to use this many countbacks to establish the final seedings. In previous years, it's been one or two teams. This year, five teams are in countback for four play off positions. Let's roll the dice and find who misses out.
The regular season ends with the Helmand Nighthawks, Who Dat Nation and Guns of Hochuli at 9-5. Three teams who last week ensured they had a play off position but their seeding was not yet established. The Guns of Hochuli won the Sub Simmers division last week, so they are either the #1 or the #2 team. The Helmand Nighthawks and the Who Dat Nation are in the same division, so that's where our first countback begins. The Who Dat Nation have a 3-3 divisional record while the Helmand Nighthawks have a 4-2 divisional record. This drops the Who Dat Nation down to the #3 seed, but we still haven't established the #1 seed. The Guns of Hochuli have an equal divisional record of 4-2, so we have to go the second countback; total points scored for the season. The Nighthawks, prior to this week, held almost a 300 point lead in total points scored for the season over the Guns of Hochuli, so this week, despite their loss, hold a reduced margin of total points. This gives us the #1 seed for the playoffs of the Helmand Nighthawks, who hold home field advantage. The Gunners remain divisional winners and ensure they are the #2 seed.
Let's jump down to the #4 seed where the Black Cats and the Australian Taipans are tied at 6-8. The divisional winning percentage is ignored as they are neither in the same division nor contending for the Divisional Winner, so we go to back to total points scored. The Australian Taipans despite having the same record, held a 300 point lead in total points scored for the season, which like the Nighthawks, was never going to change. The Black Cats needed to win to get in, and on the countback, fall to the #5 seed, and get to watch the playoffs from the grandstands with the Drunk Monkeys. The Australian Taipans slither through the backdoor to take the #4 seed.
Alright, now that we have the seedings, let's look at the matchups. The Helmand Nighthawks, rightfully, as the #1 seed, host the #4 seed the Australian Taipans at Wembley Stadium. Both teams in the last three weeks have lost to the Drunk Monkeys, the lowest scoring team in the league, but these two teams represent the highest scoring teams in the league. A repeat of last years Torpedo Bowl, this should be a shoot out.
The Guns of Hochuli get to wait for the Who Dat Nation to come across the country. These two teams have been the hot hand in the past few weeks, and if you go back to the early weeks, if they had a slight change of luck, these two teams would b the matchup for the Torpedo Bowl. Alas, only one will go on, the other will play in the Consolation Series.
But we'll have all the actions from both games next week, when we find out who gets to go to the Torpedo Bowl.
Each week, the Associated Subsim Writers (ASW) will nominated their Most Valuable Torpedo (MVT) of the week, the single player who proved decisive in their teams performance.
There were some outstanding performances this week, but only one performance that set the seedings. Had this player rushed for just 1 yard less, three of the four seedings would not have gone to countback. For the effort of 101 rushing yards, 4 reception for 112 yards and a receiving TD for a total of 43.30 points, the Associated Subsim Writers (ASW) are proud to present the Week Fourteen MVT to Austine Eckler (RB) of the Guns of Hochuli.