The 2022 SPFL season is wrapping up with some excitement. This past week’s results brought about a change to the overall #1 seed and championship favorite as The Greased Lightning slid into the catbird seat while the Moops went down again and fell not only into the overall #2 seed, but perhaps in danger of losing their stranglehold on the Tommy Boy Division regular season title.
We also now have three squads that have that coveted asterisk next to their names in the standings, denoting “clinched playoff berth”. So, along with the two aforementioned division leaders, the Bright 1s, on a six straight game heater, also have assured themselves of a playoff game. The question remains will it be in week one of the postseason … or in week two, recipient of a division winner’s bye?
The Moops and the 1s are both at 9-3 in the Tommy Boy Division … and face off this week in a de facto division title showdown. The Moops won the earlier meeting between the two, so another victory this week will clinch the title. On the other hand, a Bright 1s win, and they will control their own destiny heading into the final week of the season. The Thunder Monkeys, at 8-4, I guess are still mathematically alive in the title chase (although I didn’t have the time to research it), but they are, as of now, in the wild card hunt, holding down that final spot as a #6 seed, based on total points scored. Heath’s Heroes, with a mediocre 6-6 record, has a stellar total points record, and is pretty safely in the #5 spot right now. Megatron (4-8) and the red hot Bitter Midgets (3-9) round out the TB standings.
Over in the Matt Foley Division, the Lightning has an easy breathing lead at 9-3 and the most points scored league wide for the season. The question for them is can they stay sharp for the next three weeks before the games matter again? The Turtles are clinging hard to that runner up spot at 7-5, but the resurgent Piranha Brothers, winners of three straight, and the Bull Rings are both only a game back at 6-6. The Corn, losers of five straight games, at 3-9, still have a mathematical shot at a total points wild card if a few players put up Josh Jacobs level games for them. The No Names, at 2-10, are showing a late season pulse, renewing our faith in their fantasy football future.
As touched upon above, if the playoffs started today, it would be Lightning; Moops; 1s; Turtles; Heroes; and Monkeys, respectively. The Piranha Brothers are only 42 points behind the Monkeys for that final slot, with the Rings trailing by 78 and the Corn by 86.
Heroes 181 – Moops 111: Heath’s Heroes opened up a can on Mayberry last week, trouncing the old gray beard, led by Miles Sanders (33) and Josh Allen (31), while the Moops were not so mighty this week, led only by Joe Burrow’s 18 and Isaiah Pacheco’s 17. With Eli Mitchell going down (again) and Travis Etienne’s gimpy foot, the Mayberry faithful are starting to wring their sweaty little hands just a bit.
No Names 125 – Corn 105: The No Names still have it, despite never watching football anymore, picking up their second W of the season, thanks to Deandre Carter (22) and Dalton Schultz (19). The Corn were hurt by Justin Fields’ goose egg, and were led by Aaron Jones and DK Metcalf both pitching in 20 apiece.
Midgets 137 – Monkeys 115: Despite some health issues over the holiday, the Midgets showed some spunk, taking down the wild card contending Monkeys, led by the Sun God St. Brown (28) and James Conner (24), while the Monkeys relied on Tee Higgins (24) and the Chiefs D (23).
Brothers 144 — Rings 119: The Brothers continued their assault on the playoff castle, taking down the Bull Rings, with Zay Jones and the Dolphins D both posting 27 points on the board. The Rings were led by Lamar Jackson (25) and the Panthers D (21).
1s 153 – Megatron 119: The Bright 1s cruised to victory thanks to Jalen Hurts (31) and Chris Godwin (29) while Megatron went down despite Adam Thielen (21) and Jonathan Taylor (20) best efforts.
Lightning 167 – Turtles 144: The Turtles’ suffered a hard luck loss thanks to the scheduling gods last week, as the Lightning tuned up for their championship run, led by Josh Jacobs’ Bo Jackson-like 53 point outing. The Turtles were led by Kyler Murray (26) and Nick Chubb (22).
Next Week
- Moops/1s (almost like a playoff game, except it’s non elimination)
- Names/Rings (spoiler alert?)
- Midgets/Megatron (high channel game alert?)
- Lightning/Brothers (cruising versus grinding?)
- Heroes/Monkeys (a game of the week contender any other time…)
- Turtles/Corn (desperate for a W versus desperate for points … although the Turtles are in fine shape points wise, so… eh, who cares, right? LOL)
Please check out this linked video if you have time. Guy was so excited about his team’s interception he ran onto the field before the play was over, but had the wherewithal to just go with it and pretend to be blocking. That’s the enthusiasm I like seeing from our SPFLers as the season winds down! Enjoy the games and good luck!
The Commish