PFFL 2008

2008 Draft

PFFL Past

PFBL 2008

Pittsburgh Franchise Football League
2008 News & Notes 

Week Six

PFFL EAST

In the words of Little Tommy: "what a comeback!" Going into Monday night Little Tommy was upset with himself for playing Favre over Aaron Rodgers saying it cost him the game. But then I was awoken with a phone call late Monday night - yes Tommy I was sleeping, thanks - informing me that his final player Braylon Edwards had gone off and not only did he win his game with Cleantown, but he also won the week in the East. Cleantown has to be reeling a bit coming in second for the week and losing. The come-from-behind win opens up a 3VP lead for the Guns in the East and puts them second only to the Downtowners in total points and VP league wide. Where they are not second to the Downtowners or anyone else is weekly winnings. They have now come in the money four of the six weeks with three being firsts!

The Rebels move up from tenth to eight this week with a big win over Green Apple. Oh wait, that's from tenth to eighth in total points in the conference. Sorry, I meant the Rebels move up from third to second in the standings this week with a big win over Green Apple. Okay, am I being sarcastic because I have more points than them but I'm in eighth in the standings while they are in second? ABSOLUTELY! But I digress. The win improves their record to 5-1 and more importantly displaces Green Apple with themselves in second. They lost ground to first but second does receive the same amount of byes as first in the playoffs. William, I'm just kidding with the point thing. I'm happy for you, really. No, really I am.

It seems as the league scoring average goes Green Apple goes. In weeks 1,3,5 the league scoring average was below normal and Green Apple's scores were below average. In weeks 2,4,6 the league average was above normal and Green Apple's scores were above average. The problem is scoring above the average doesn't guarantee you a win and although the Apple scored a respectable above average 124 this week, it wasn't good enough for a win as they drop their second contest in a row after opening up with four straight wins. The 124 points actually moved them up from sixth to fourth in conference total points but the loss dropped them down to fourth from second in the standings.
 

PFFL CENTRAL

The Syndicate continues to out coach their opponents with another impressive efficiency rating of 99.3 for the week. The excellent coaching job yielded them 151 points and their second weekly first of the year. Their first was a Team of the Week Honor in week 1. The 151 points puts them back on top of the conference in total points fourth in the league overall and the 4VP earned puts them back on top of the conference standings with the third highest VP total in the league. But are they all they can be?

The Twisted Helmets won their fifth straight game maintaining the second-longest winning streak in the league behind only the undefeated Downtowners, but were they rewarded for their efforts? Well yes and no. Yes they moved 2VP ahead of third place and no they actually dropped out of first and 1VP behind the Syndicate. It can be kind of frustrating to win your game and still move down in the standings but even though this is basically a head to head league, total points still play a prominent role. The fact is the Central is the closest race of the three conferences and I expect there will be more lead changes before the regular season is over.

We mentioned last week that the Knockout Kings were unlucky enough to place in the top three in scores but play the #1 team for the week thereby losing their game. But we also mentioned that luck is what it is and hopefully it equals out in the end. Well it didn't take till the end for it to equal out at least a little for them: They put up just 104 points in playing the league average giving them their third loss of the year but the Twisted Helmets win over the Donators allows them to stay right where they started the week, in third. It's always good to have a 100% coaching rating for the week but it's not good when that 100% produces just 104 points. But in all fairness they did have two of their best players on a bye.

After a brief stint in week 1, the Nasty Aggravators rejoin the top tier in week 6. To illustrate how close the Central race is right now they jumped from seventh to fourth this week. That's what a 4VP week can do for you in a close race. And with the eleven-team conference setup we have been employing, that means just three teams instead of four earn the 4VP each week making the 4VP week that much more valuable. Their 132-94 victory over R&J Inc. wasn't as lopsided as it would seem as R&J's loss was a bit self inflicted by a 65.3 efficiency rating. But the credit still has to go to the Aggravators for maximizing their lineup with a 94.3 rating. They have been held back with injury and a slow start from Braylon Edwards but with Parker due back and Edwards seemingly breaking out, they could be a force in the second half.
 

PFFL WEST

I don't know if it will be the Downtowners year or not, but it was definitely their's in the first half. Last week they won by a point; this week they lose Westbrook but no problem just plug in Buckhalter for 30. Their opponent this week certainly didn't roll over as the Rounder 17 put up 132 but I guess the Downtowners weren't in the mood for another squeaker so they just went all out with 158 points and a Team of the Week Honor. Will they finish undefeated? Well only one team has done it since head to head began in 1995 so the odds are against it. But the odds are also against them collapsing. They weren't able to stretch their lead but anytime you are in a position where you can post a zero for the upcoming week - that's zero points and VP - and still remain in first, you have a serious lead.

If MNE is feeling a little frustrated it is understandable. After losing by a single point to the Downtowners last week, they score 140 this week with the max 4VP but can gain no ground back on the Downtowners. They are ranked third overall in the league in total points yet they are 5VP and two games behind the leader. They do have two weekly seconds but for a team ranked third overall in the league in points, you would think they would have at least one first through the first six weeks. Looking at the glass half full they are currently in second place in the West and 3VP ahead of fifth. Looking at it half empty Andrew gets a rifle, finds a tall tower and starts shooting!

After the first two weeks of the season Commish West was 0-2 with 1VP and averaging 97 points a game. With a start like that there wasn't much reason for optimism. Whatever the reason in the next four weeks no team has scored more points. The last four weeks they recorded two firsts and two seconds, went 4-0 earning the max VP of 16 and averaged 139.5 points. The hot streak has lifted them from the bottom tier to the top and third place.

After week 1 was over JR's Boys were atop the West with a 1-0 record and 4VP. After a week 2 loss they dropped to sixth and haven't seen the top tier again until now. Their 130 points this week gave them a victory over the league average and a 4-2 record. After scoring just 93 points in both week 2 and 3 dropping them to 1-2, the last three weeks they reeled off three straight wins while averaging 133 points putting them right back into contention. They can give the credit to their coaching staff for sporting the second best coaching rating in the league of 90.90. The Syndicate and they are the only two teams in the league with a coaching rating of 90 or better.
 

PFFL Information

High Week

Tommy Guns

PFFL STUFF

● The down-up down-up trend is no longer a trend but a clear pattern. Here are the averages for the first six weeks of the season: 113, 124, 110, 121, 110, 119. With a current yearly average of 116 you can clearly see the pattern of below and above average each week. But the question is why is this strange phenomenon occurring? And does it have anything to do with the phenomenon occurring in the East conference where teams are high in points but low in the standings?

● At the beginning of the season we heard a lot of talk about fantasy drafts moving away from running backs in the first round and more toward the receiver position. And many experts suggest never taking a quarter back in the first round. But according to the current stats if you followed this advice you might be in trouble. Of the top ten point scorers through the first six weeks, the top six are QBs and the next four are RBs.

● Every team has at least one game where they either Coulda Won or Woulda Lost if different lineups were played by either them or their opponents. Not one team has zeros in both columns under these categories in the Power Rankings section. No one can predict when a bench player is going to score better than a starter; everyone plays their front line players and hopes for the best. But if everyone did play their perfect lineup the teams it would impact the most are: In the East the Rebels would have four more losses and IC Lightning would have four more wins. In the Central the SS Stoggies would have four more wins. No one in the West has a four in either category.

● Congratulations to the Sharks on their first win of the season. There are now no teams without at least one win. There has only been one team to go undefeated and one team to not win a game in the regular season since 1995. The Downtowners are the only undefeated team remaining in the league.

● No matter how much credence you put in the coaching efficiency rating, the teams at the bottom of the standings always seem to have some of the lowest ratings.