One week to the dance!

After 12 weeks of games, we know five of the six playoff-qualifying teams, but only one of the playoff spots is settled. Last week, I prematurely labeled SOFA KING GOOD as the North Division Champ, but after the Week 12 results, that spot is still up for grabs. In the South Division the championship will be between the Lords of Lumberg and Joe’s Pats. As luck would have it, those two teams play each other this week! Could not be better!

As far as the wildcard slots go, one has already been wrapped up by my Scottish Rebels. It doesn’t matter if I win or lose this week, I’m in. Four teams remain in contention to nab the second wild card slot: Midnight Maulers, Coors Light Drunk Guys, American BadAss and Tailgate Approved. Read on for the full breakdown of the playoff scenarios.

But before we get to that, I must give big congratulations to Russ for taking his third Weekly High Score Prize, which was also his second one in a row! Well-done sir! To say that Russ has dominated these past two weeks would be quite the understatement… Over the past two weeks, sprouts has scored a total of 246 points, which is 60 points ahead of the next closest team. Also, sprouts has averaged 123 points during that time, which is 42 points higher than the average for the rest of the league. Russ – “sprouts” may need to be renamed to “Redwoods” if you keep playing this big!!

So let’s get into this!!

GOOD

Dwayne Bowe, WR – sprouts – 38 pts – The “D. Bowe Show” is in full effect! He notched 170 yards and three touchdowns against a non-existent Seattle defense.

Peyton Hillis, RB – sprouts – 37 pts – All I can say is that I would hate to be a defender who has to tackle this guy. He just looks like he hurts.

Tom Brady, QB – Joe’s Pats – 29 pts – The Patriots vs. the Lions? Does the NFL have a mercy rule?

Matt Cassel, QB – Tailgate Approved – 27 pts – Someone had to throw all those TD’s to Bowe…

Jacoby Ford, WR – Free Agent – 27 pts – Kudos to any fantasy owner who played Jacoby Ford this week… that’s gotta be a lonely group.

Aaron Rodgers, QB – American BadAss – 26 pts – Just another day at the office for Rodgers… 344 yards passing, 51 yards rushing and 2 total TD’s.

BAD

Terrell Owens, WR – Joe’s Pats – 1 pt – Palmer was shut down and T.O. only managed 3 catches for 17 yards.

Nate Washington, WR – Joe’s Pats – 1 pt – Joe had both of his wide receivers score 1 point and he still won his game. Crazy.

Dez Bryant, WR – American BadAss – 1 pt – After a nice stretch, Dez has now gone 2 weeks without reaching the endzone.

Tim Hightower, RB – Frito Pie – 0 pts – Hightower finished with no yards on Monday night, but not for lack of trying. He actually had five carries for zero yards.

Chris Johnson, RB – sprouts – 0 pts – Johnson finished with five yards on seven attempts. How can the Tennessee Titans, playing against the Houston Texans, with a rookie quarterback under center, only give the ball to Chris Johnson SEVEN TIMES?!?!

Rob Bironas, K – Tailgate Approved – 0 pts – Bironas was a victim of Tennessee’s horrible play calling as well, notching his first shutout of the year.

UGLY

Reggie Bush, RB – Coors Light Drunk Guys – -1 pt – Bush had been hurt and out for eight weeks. In his first week back, he actually did worse than not playing by only gaining 17 yards and losing a fumble… finishing with minus one point.

Stay on the bench Reggie! You’ll do less damage there!!

PLAYOFFS!!!

A lot was settled this week as far as the teams that made it into the playoffs, but the final standings are far from set. Here is what we know:

- Teams that are in for sure: SOFA KING GOOD, sprouts, Lords of Lumberg, Joe’s Pats and Scottish Rebels.

- Both divisions are still up for grabs: In the North Division, if SOFA KING GOOD loses and sprouts wins, it will come down to total points scored to determine the champion. In the South Division, the winner between the Lords of Lumberg and Joe’s Pats will be the champion.

- Teams that are on the bubble: Midnight Maulers, Coors Light Drunk Guys, Tailgate Approved and American Bad Ass.

Here are the scenarios for the bubble teams:

Midnight Maulers – Jamie is in control of his own destiny. A win and he is in.

Coors Light Drunk Guys – Shawn needs to win PLUS have the Midnight Maulers lose AND outscore Tailgate Approved.

Tailgate Approved – Jens needs to win PLUS have the Midnight Maulers lose PLUS have the Coors Light Drunk Guys lose, OR win PLUS have the Midnight Maulers lose AND outscore the Coors Light Drunk Guys.

American BadAss – Jason needs to win PLUS have the Midnight Maulers lose PLUS have Tailgate Approved lose.

MINING FOR RUNNINGBACKS

Who would have ever guessed at this stage of the season that the top five runningbacks would be: Arian Foster (227 pts), Peyton Hillis (194 pts), Adrian Peterson (186 pts), Jamaal Charles (154 pts) and LeSean McCoy (153 pts). Only one of those players was a keeper (Peterson), two were second round picks (Charles and McCoy), one was a fifth round pick (Foster) and one was a Week 4 waiver-wire pickup (Hillis). Who needs a draft when you can get the second best runningback off the waiver wire?!

BEST BENCH

Frito Pie and Tailgate Approved posted solid bench numbers this week, but didn’t come close to this week’s Best Bench…. SOFA KING GOOD! James could have improved his point total by a solid 46 points(!) with four roster moves. J. Cutler for P. Rivers (19 pts), F. Jackson for D. McFadden (15 pts), A. Johnson for M. Wallace (8 pts) and Giants for Eagles (4 pts). Had James made all of those moves, he would have just edged sprouts for the high score this week with 126 points…

Okay, there’s a lot at stake this week with eight teams either playing for a spot in the playoffs or a first round bye! Get your team set…and don’t forget about the Thursday Night Game!!