It’s a Clinch
PA Wildcats, NK Knights clinch divisions;
MR in Wild Card hunt after come-from-behind win

The Monday Night matchup between the Dolphins and the Bills clarified the playoff picture in the FFL and also provided comeback wins for both the NIKEtown Knights and the Mercer Mustangs. NIKEtown clinches the Paterno Division title, while Mercer pulls into a tie with Syracuse in second place in the Engle Division, where the Wild Card team is likely to come from.

Pennsylvania has clinched the Engle Division title. The Wildcats managed a 49-30 win over the Newport Beach Nightmare. PA’s gameday addition of WR Ricky Proehl to the lineup proved to be a fortunate pickup — Proehl’s 14 points (which lead the team) were needed to put the Wildcats over the top.

NIKEtown clinched the Paterno Division title by virtue of their 50-44 win over the Syracuse Blizzard. The swoosh got a big night from kicker Olindo Mare, who provided the points needed to overtake the Blizzard. Syracuse drops into a tie with Mercer at 8-4 in the Engle Division.

Wisconsin has clinched at least a tie for the Cappelletti Division championship. The Cheeseheads beat the Keystone Longfellows by a 58-20 count. Wisconsin will try to capture the division outright next week as they take on New Denver in Week 13.

Mercer pulled a comeback win, thanks to TE Troy Drayton’s TD in the Monday Night contest. The Mustangs knock off the Miami Muffdivers by a 48-45 count. The loss knocks Miami out of the playoff chase. Mercer will likely battle Syracuse for the Wild Card spot.

New York still holds very slim playoff hopes as they beat Mission Viejo by a 48-44 count. Since the Griffons lost both games to the Cheeseheads this year, the NY squad’s only playoff hope rests with the Wild Card race. To be considered, NY would need both Syracuse and Mercer to lose both of their remaining games, and then the multi-team tie-breaker would kick in. New York plays Mercer in Week 14, and lost to Syracuse earlier in the year.

Carolina still holds very slim playoff hopes after beating New Denver by a 46-31 count. New Denver still has RB Antowain Smith yet to be scored. Carolina’s only hope is as the Wild Card team through the multi-team tiebreaker. Carolina lost to Mercer earlier in the year, while they do not play Syracuse.

The Dallas Armadillos were eliminated from the playoffs. Dallas lost to Richmond 40-34 this week. Despite the win, Richmond (affectionately known as the Lion Camels to some of their fans) is still eliminated from playoff contention. That happened, to the best of our recollection, sometime during the Nixon administration.

Also of note this week was the fact that we had some very close, interesting games. Four of the 7 games were decided by a touchdown or less.

 

 

Analysis
Mystery handicapper offers scouting report of Richmond Raptors

Fantasy Football Flyer has again received email from “Ace,” an anonymous fan of our league who handicaps and writes about football elsewhere. If you would like to contact “Ace,” the email address is RonAce2477@aol.com.

We take a look at the RD Rattlin Raptors this week.

QB: Elway is still a fine player, and Stewart is a more than capable back-up.

RB: RB’s Salaam, Smith and Carter may be collectively a big group of underachievers. Salaam has not yet grown up, and he is out for the year. Back-ups Fletcher and Rhett may be out of FB soon. This area requires immediate offseason attention!

WR/TE: Ellard can’t go on too much longer, so Westbrook will have to become an everyday WR. We think he will be the type to put up 100 yards one week, 15 the next! He is not proven to be an 80 catch performer. Irvin sulks too much, but can produce the 150 yard/11 catch game.

PK: Elam is good because of the altitude, so he’s good to have on the roster. Ford is inconsistent.

The short range plan is probably one where this team can beat any other team on a day where the big guns are hot, but is also capable of losing thanks to lack of RB and WR consistency.

This is certainly a franchise that could pull off some blockbuster deals. If Kordell is the future, Elway could net a good RB in a straight-up trade! I would consider dumping all RB’s, or trading some of them to a team in need of RB depth. There is tremendous WR speed on this roster, but Muhammad and Hobbs are not 50+ WR’s in catches yet. Let’s make a deal should be the name of the game in the offseason.

Next week: An early QB assessment? Please comment or ask questions if possible.