20 JAN 07 Power Rankings

1. Cutters----This team is not only organized, but proved it plays with heart and willpower. This week showed the razor-enhanced cutters defense rip both the Maddawgs and Generals to shreds. First off, the total yardage gained by Tommy the Gun, refusing to leave the pocket and accumulating several QB draw plays had the consequence of putting his team into good field position practically every play. One quickly gets dumbfounded on how an individual with a panza (gut) like the Gun, can move with such lethal quickness.

When on the oft chance the Dawgs could collapse the pocket and I do say odd chance because Rum handily made inoperable the Maddawg wrecking ball, and Big dude in the back (with glasses) didn't allow any pressure on the Qb as well. Zero-Sum game of Maddawg pressure was neutralized, to at most a pawltry three pressures.

Take a look at Antonio in the upper left, believe it or not, he put the Dawgs Qb on the run several times gathering some clutch sacks as well. One way or another he is capable of avoiding larger lineman. Finally Radar again served as the metaphorical Knife (INTS) in the Heart, piercing any hope the Dawgs had left to score. The Generals could not deal with the collective effort of the Dicing cutters as the concluded a Battle of the Bulge, wintry two game romp amoutning to PF 10- PAgainst 1. Game, Set and match. Due to their strength of schedule thus far in the season, no one can truly argue with the Cutters ranking, even if conquest beat them on week 1.


2. Briscoe High Hawks--Brisco again performed admirably, confusing defenses and boasting a line of sound techniques and bruisers. Im not sure right now if any team has the capability of stopping their trick plays, option runs, screens or slants. Although this team hasn't proven they can throw the long ball, the truth is they may not need to with the collective quickness, teamwork and organization the brisco badasses are displaying on the field. I blame Brisco for not identifying key players as reason for their limited write-ups, but then again it may be part of their larger strategy to continue to be mysterious. I do want you all to know Sherdog and Saracen are beginning to talk shit on a weekly basis, so watch for more of that and respond accordingly.

3. Conquest ----What should scare the league about this team, are several things. First, its the "twin" quarterback who can scramble and also throw the long ball. This devastatingly and deadly combination, I feel goes unnoticed by conquest because of all the attention their line gets. I would say Conquest has an interesting decision to make next week with the return of "Cmon Ali." Ali may in fact have more tendencies to throw interceptions, especially in his rusty state. I predict that out of team loyalty Theo will place Ali as a starter, which in the end may set Conquest up for disaster. It should be mentioned that Ty unleashed Terror on the candles this week with several grabs that put Ron and Del in 4th down situations. Such evidence along with several long sack losses with Algie crumpler do in fact make conquest wicked. They will be even more devastating when WB comes back and the other "twin" heals.

4. Sixteen Candles---Much fanfare surrounded this team with the duel against the nonamers. In the end, Candles won, with a hard fought game on both sides. This game also punctuated different moderating styles. Madcap prefers the more interactive ref, calling penalties and offsides and holding, but also the concept of preventing an offense from "delaying the game." The whole concept of running the clock out should be foreign to novaffl, and as long as Im in this league I will not stand for that crap, out of honor and respect to what we stand for. Sure, its part of real football, but its a sad part, that in the end its cowardice and too conservative. There is no play clock, but if the offense is showing the intent to draw out the clock, fuck it, Ill stop the timer. And I did on several occasions on both sides of the ball as I told the offense to hurry it up. There is a reason why my games last longer. I put this under Candles section, because I swore that team did that to the Nonamers, even if they outplayed them, I wont stand for abusing the clock by any team.

It should be noted that this week, the Candles still played well with several short plays, but the cold did affect this team, which is why they dropped in the rankings. Its only going to get colder and there are questions about this team's ability to field all its players. Del showed a lot of defensive merit in both games with critical interceptions, that show Candles definitely has a defense to contend with. I predict some disunity on the team from the after affects of the conquest game, as I heard tea mates attacking each other. But the team has experience so watch out for their innate resilience.

5. Field generals --A kink in the Field Generals Armor was seen this week, in the form of dropped passes and a defense that like the Maddawgs was unable to deliver enough pressure on the cutters. Also, if Im correct, this week showed that the cold too dictated how the generals QB performed, which may not bode well for the future. Personnel problems may plague this team, but their roster considerably dwindled this week, lets hope its not foreshadowing. In the end, this team's collective speed still suffices as a reason why its ranked over the Maddawgs.

6. Maddawgs ---The Maddawgs still have a decent defense, but their are some serious concerns over this team's ability to mount an offense. This week was plagued by poor protection from the line, as well as receivers who could not hold on to the ball. Add in confusion on plays, and correct route running and you have a team that is suffering to score. Blame cannot all be put on Ron this week for his interceptions, but the cold did tend to make him throw high. He did put some doubters to rest however on a 60 yard scramble against the extraordinaries, his first of the season.

7. “Nonamers"--Nonamers saw their first win of the season, and proved they can keep it close with the best of them. Like the rest of the teams, the cold seemed to affect their play as well. This week saw the return of Nique, but only the future holds if he will continue his attendance.

8. Upper Deckers-- The upper deckers had no problems fielding a full team this week and like the nonamers were able to keep most of their games close. They are playing a new quarterback who can scramble, but certainly likes to argue with the moderators quite a bit which is the first evidence of possible poor sportsmanship. Arguing in his first appearance, definitely doesn't bode well. In the end, an honorable mention goes to Israel with a key sack against the Conquest.

9. The Extraordinaries---Showed they aren't the worse team in the league this week, beating up on the Misfit Merks. The team seemed to drop a lot of passes this week, but had their offense bolstered by a small brother who showed some surprising speed. Look for the Hispanic brothers to continue looking for him on 3rd down situations. Poor sportsmanship is awarded to this team for failing to moderate any games thus far.

10. The Misfit Merks----Are showing heart and consistency, showing up every week and have earned them Madcap as their free recruiter. This week I will wait for their captain to contact me or, Dan, and send them some player their way. Down for now, I doubt anyone questions the resolve of their hearts.