Following Week 14 action, I consulted my Magic 8-Ball for the playoff scenarios, and it told me "Reply Hazy. Try Again Later". Click the link or just check the league forum for the scenarios as they are now. Half of our division titles are still up for grabs and only four teams have their playoff ticket punched, while we have 13 teams still in play for the last 8 spots. 1987 could go down as the most exciting season in league history and we're still 2 weeks away from the playoffs.
One crazy standings tidbit...while this isn't the first season with all four teams in a division at .500 or better, it is the first time all four will be above .500. The West division was the first to have all four teams at least 8-8, doing it in 1979 and 1980. The Midwest did it in 1982 and the Atlantic in 1983. All of those times, the last place team was 8-8, so the fact this year's last place team will have at least 10 wins is absolutely nuts.
Express 18 Sun 15 (OT)
It wasn't pretty but Los Angeles won the game and gets to hang a pretty banner up in their stadium, saying 1987 Pacific Division Champions. They played the full 70 minutes in this game, yet the box score gives a combined 75 minutes of possession. It's most likely a display bug, and it's been submitted for review. Los Angeles racked up 456 yards of offense to 275 for Southern California but turnovers and red zone failures helped the Sun stay in the game. Southern California's second TD of the day early in the 4th gave the Sun a 15-12 lead. The Express tied it with a FG inside the 2 minute warning, then won it with a FG at the final gun.
Showboats 26 Gunslingers 3
Memphis doubled the yardage of San Antonio (404-197), and the Showboats defense intercepted a pass, had 2 sacks, and held the Gunslingers to 3 for 12 on 3rd down. Memphis was 8 for 16 on 3rd down with 5 red zone trips (3 TD/2 FG) and the win means the road to World Bowl XIV goes through Memphis, Tennessee.
Stallions 29 Bell 10
Birmingham QB David Schmitt completed 90% of his passes (27/30) while the Stallions defense intercepted 3 passes and held Philadelphia to 200 yards on the day. Birmingham led 13-7 at the half and the Bell cut it to 13-10 early in the 3rd, but that was it for Philadelphia. The Stallions scored the game's last 16 points for the victory that sends Birmingham to the playoffs for the sixth straight season.
Wranglers 42 Maulers 16
Pittsburgh won the turnover battle 1-0 and equaled the number of first downs and red zone trips of Arizona, but the Wranglers offense mauled the Pittsburgh defense. Arizona QB Joseph Jones threw for 440 yards and 5 TD's as part of a 542 yard day for the Wranglers offense. Arizona was 9-12 converting 3rd downs in the Wranglers 5th straight victory.
Federals 19 Invaders 16
Washington has the 3rd highest scoring offense and they faced Oakland and their second stingiest scoring defense. The Federals boast the 4th stingiest defense so it's no surprise both offenses struggled. In the first half, it was Oakland's time to shine on defense, shutting out the Federals and allowing only 66 yards, building a 13-0 lead. Oakland was still leading 16-7 early in the 4th before the self inflicted wounds began. Fred Hall sacked Dustin Nichols in the end zone for a safety, then Washington scored 3 more after the free kick, making it 16-12 Oakland. Nichols then threw an INT, leading to the go ahead Federals TD, then threw another one to salt the game away for Washington.
Gold 43 Panthers 19
One thing I've noticed looking over so many box scores, is the propensity of the game engine to split games into 2 halves. Time and time again, I've seen one team dominate the first half only to have everything completely flipped in the second half. I realize it happens, but it seems to me it's happening too often.
Michigan had a 13-3 halftime lead, going 4-7 on 3rd down with a yard advantage of 235-138. Denver won the second half 40-6, holding Michigan to 0-6 on 3rd downs in forcing 5 three and outs along with 2 INT's. Gold QB Walton Vasquez threw for 465 yards and 3 TD's and the scoring was capped by a record tying 110 yard kickoff return TD for Jake Peralta of Denver. The Gold converted 2 point tries on all 3 of their 4th qtr TD's while adding a FG in the quarter, as Denver took a 16-13 lead after 3 and made it a blowout.
Storm 31 Hornets 12
Portland had 403 yards of offense while holding Charlotte to 9 yards rushing and dominated both red zones as the Storm pull away from the Hornets in the second half for the win that keeps them alone at the top of the West. Charlotte was 6-17 on 3rd down and entered the red zone 3 times but couldn't cross the goal line while Portland scored 4 TD's and a FG on their 6 trips.
Bandits 30 Steamer 16
Shreveport had won 5 in a row as they make a late playoff push but they ran into a Tampa Bay team that's been solid all season and fighting for a playoff spot of their own. The stats were close but turnovers and red zone made the difference. The Bandits defense intercepted 2 passes, returning one for a TD and kept the Steamer out of the end zone in their lone red zone trip. Tampa Bay played turnover free football as QB Melvin Driggers threw for 3 TD's and the offense was 2 for 2 in the red zone. Shreveport got within 20-16 early in the 4th but the Bandits scored the last 10 points to seal victory.
Stars 40 Bulls 21
Yet another regular season playoff game as neither team could afford to lose this game if they want to play into January. Baltimore came out like shooting stars, scoring 17 first quarter points en route to a 30-21 halftime lead. The Stars scored on 6 of their first 7 possessions of the opening half as Jacksonville's defense had no answer for Brian Darden. Darden caught 3 first half TD's, one for 97 yards as part of a 4 catch, 210 yard day. Baltimore QB Jon Snow had 400 yards and 4 TD's and the Stars defense pitched a second half shutout, helping Baltimore keep their playoff hopes alive.
VooDoo 28 Force 0
After Week 12, Georgia had played 11 one score games, losing all but 2 as they were eliminated from the playoffs. Since Week 12, the Force has not been with Georgia, as they suffer their second consecutive shutout loss. Is it a case of nothing to play for, or is it their competition playing well? Hard to tell since the losses have been to Birmingham and New Orleans, but they close out with Boston and San Jose, so a strong finish is possible.
New Orleans needed this win after last week's loss and the VooDoo were on point. They outgained Georgia 357-154, won the turnover battle 3-0, went 8-18 on 3rd downs and 5 red zone trips (2 TD/3 FG) while dominating time of possession (38:31-21:29). New Orleans scored TD's with 2 point conversions on their first 2 drives, adding a FG on their 3rd and never looked back in the shutout victory.
Gamblers 24 Outlaws 17
Oklahoma continues to ground and pound and they hung in their against the Houston Gamblers as the 1-15 season of 1985 is a distant memory now. Despite the improvement, Oklahoma will miss the playoffs again but the foundation is there for future success. Both teams scored on 3 of their first 4 possessions but Houston scored all TD's while Oklahoma had a FG to go with 2 TD's as Houston had a 21-17 lead at the break. The second half saw just a lone Houston FG and the Gamblers defense intercepted 2 passes in the 4th qtr to stifle the Outlaws comeback bid.
(NY) Stars 57 Breakers 7
New York broke Boston today as the Stars rolled up 725 yards, 184 rushing and 541 passing, had 7 red zone trips (3 TD/4 FG) and almost a 2-1 time of possession advantage. New York RB Ernest Lynch had 108 rushing yards and RB Cam Dalton had 227 combined yards and 4 TD's (14-63-1 rushing, 7-164-3 receiving). TE Carmen Nelson caught 11 for 177 as part of Willie Bust's 32/44, 541 yard, 4 TD day.
Whatever happens these last 2 games, the Stars have put New Jersey on notice that the East won't be so easy to win in the future.
Generals 38 Blazers 7
New Jersey ran for 208 yards and Ric Flair tossed 4 first half TD passes as the Generals doused the Blazers. New Jersey won the yardage battle 462-241, the turnover battle 2-0 (Generals fumbled 3 times though, losing none) and converted 9 of 16 3rd downs. There were no 100 yard rush/rec games nor a 300 yard passer.
Hawaiians 13 SaberCats 10
Honolulu mixed in 30 rush attempts with their usual 55 passes for 397 offensive yards. The Hawaiians converted 3 of 4 4th down attempts, yet they found themselves trailing 10-6 after 3 quarters. Bruno Wilson threw his only TD pass to Allen Grant with 1:28 left for the game winning score. Honolulu RB Ronald Boatman rushed 21 times for 112 yards and caught 7 passes for 61 yards. Hawaiians K Howard Bury is digging his own grave with his lack of accuracy this season. Bury missed 2 of his 4 FG tries and is just 12/22 overall while also missing 3 XP.
Renegades 20 Wheels 13
Detroit has been putting up more yards in recent weeks including 357 today, but the Wheels still have trouble scoring points. They had a 13-10 lead on Orlando before the Renegades tied it with a FG just outside the 2 minute warning. Three plays later, Wheels QB Gregory Skidmore threw an INT, setting Orlando up in plus territory. WR/RB Charles Ayers ran it in from 27 yards for the game winning score with 1:21 left.
Blitz 20 Thunderbolts 3
This game had no 100 yard runners or receivers, and neither QB broke 150 yards in this titanic struggle. The box score was close, except for red zone and time of possession. Cleveland lost the game's only turnover and scored just 3 points in 2 red zone trips, converting 3-15 3rd downs. Chicago was 7-17 on 3rd downs while scoring on all 3 red zone trips (2 TD/1 FG). The Blitz had the time of possession advantage 34:55 to 25:02.
