Let's take a look and see how things shape up for this week:
On the AFC side, Big Blue pushed Lyle Alzado out of the picture and Lacie Belles knocked Deesato down into the grey. In the NFC, Monster Rain has taken a first-round bye away from Bad Mice while Rabid Ferrets has taken away Evil Squad Of Evil's playoff spot.
Ok, we have a lot of divisional matches in store, and every one of them has playoff implications. Let's see how things are looking for this all-important week:
The AFC South is all but wrapped up, but we can't put a nail in this one just yet. With the entire division coming off of losses, there is a glimmer of hope left for one trailing player. As it is, this division is Yellow Jackets' to lose. If she can get a win over Jr. Barnes this week, then she'll have the title wrapped up. However, if Yellow Jackets loses and Mother Cluckers beats Horns this week, then the Week 17 match between Yellow Jackets and Mother Cluckers will be for all the marbles -- win and in, lose and go home.
Brenda's Bulldogs has the inside track for the AFC North title, but if she falters then Lacie Belles can put herself in position to take over with a win here over Waterboys. Lacie Belles is in the thick of the Wild Card hunt as well, so both she and Brenda's Bulldogs' postseason chances are pretty good -- a win here would pretty much guarantee things.
Time was that the AFC East title seemed a sure thing for Mike C -- a 7-0 start was a great way to kick things off, but a sub-.500 record since then has made things a little shaky. Now the streaking Vlad M is looking to take over the top spot with a win over Deesato. Of course, Deesato isn't out of this one either -- if he wins out, then he can take over the division himself.
Unfortunately for Better Name Pending, he's out of the AFC West race. But that doesn't mean his season is over -- he can still do two very important things...pick up yet another Player of the Week award, and ruin Big Blue's day. No way is this division going to produce a Wild Card player, so winning the division title is the only way into the playoffs here. As it stands, Big Blue is in control of his own fate -- if he can win these next two weeks, then he's in. If he loses along the way, then it opens things up for Why Not Zoidberg? or Lyle Alzado to jump into that top spot.
Bad Mice seemed to have the NFC East all sewn up, but back-to-back losses have put him in a bad spot. It's still his division to lose -- two wins will definitely give him the division crown -- but it's a lot less of a sure thing then it once was. If he loses this one to Turf Toe, then Hyena can put himself in a position to take over when he and Bad Mice meet in Week 17.
Secretly Victorious can lock up the NFC West title with a win over Fighting Sporks or if Evil Squad Of Evil loses to Brenda's Bulldogs. Otherwise the division winner will be determined by the Secretly Victorious/Evil Squad Of Evil match in Week 17.
Rabid Ferrets can lock up the NFC North title with a win over Pigskin Palookas. If Pigskin Palookas wins, then the division will come down to Week 17 when all four divisional players meet up.
The NFC South is wide open right now - Monster Rain is in the driver's seat and will win the division title if he can put together wins against Schwantoes this week and Schleps next week. If he falters in either or both matches, then all bets are off. The winner of this week's Schleps/Mike W match will be in prime shape to take over, but really, this division is completely up for grabs.
All right, that's it for this part of the preview. Remember, this week's pick submission page has both Week 16 and Week 17 right at your fingertips. If you want to get in some backups for Week 17, it's easy to do so. If you decide to make some changes once Week 17 comes along, that's not a problem -- but it's a great idea to have those backups in, just in case.
Ok, that'll about do it -- have a happy one, everybody!
One other thing, regarding Week 17 -- we'll be travelling next week, with very limited web access. We should be back on Thursday, but you might be on your own for remembering to get those all-important final picks in (which is all the more reason to use the backups on the pick submission page).
Ok, that'll do it for this week's preview. Remember that the majority of this week's games will be played on Saturday, so check back tomorrow for all the Christmas Eve action. Good luck, everyone!
Anyway, assuming the Packers don't blow a 25-point lead, it'll be Lacie Belles and Ignats closing things out.
As we said in the e-mail we just sent out, this may be the last update for a couple of days, so make sure you get your Week 17 picks submitted in time. Have a good one, all!
Monday Night Football: The week wraps up with high score being the way to pick. Those going that way and getting a win were Vlad M, Big Blue, Jr. Barnes, Chocolate Mudbuttons, Mike C, Turf Toe, Secretly Victorious and Rabid Ferrets.
Congratulations go out to Mike W -- in early November he was ranked near the bottom of the league and it looked like he was going to have a throwaway season. After a six-match winning streak, he's roared right back, put himself into playoff contention, and now he's picked up the Week 16 Player of the Week award. Nicely done!
We saw lot of players punch their postseason ticket this week, although there's still some uncertainty left out there. We'll break down the "who's in-who's out" standings in the upcoming preview, so for now take a look at the updated standings, check the finalized pick chart and make sure you get those all-important final regular season picks submitted. Have a great week, all!
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