PFCC/NFL - Week 15: Widespread Mediocrity Pays Off

by: exRegionalWeenie (12/20/22)

According to this low level observer, there are just three outstanding teams in the NFL (Philly, KC and Buffalo). A debate expert might convince me to add Cincy to that list. Three other teams have good records but they are paper tigers. Minnesota is one of the worst 11-win teams in history despite their EPIC comeback after falling behind the Colts 33-0. The 49ers impressed with a 10-4 record but they are playing with their 9th string QB and the 10-win Cowboys.... eeewww, what a stinker they laid against the Jags this week. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are just two truly horrific teams (the 3-win Bears and 1-win Texans).

That leaves almost two dozen mediocre teams. That's right - there is a whole lot of Average Joe football being played in most NFL stadiums. The good aspect of widespread mediocrity is that it can set the stage for close games - and wow did we have a ton of close games in Week 15. Five games were decided by just 3 points, three games went to Overtime, and don't even get me started on the wild ending of the Raiders/Patriots game. What an awesome weekend!

Winners & Losers
What do Jeff Graschel, Tim Tinsley and Chris Liscinsky have in common? They won the PFCC in Weeks 13, 14 and 15, respectively. Nice job, guys!! Guess what else they have in common. None of them are in the overall Top 50 and they're each at least 125 points behind the overall leader. Weekly wins are awesome but you can't be a one-week pony and compete for a gold, silver or bronze bone. Following Chris in Week 15 were Eric Jones (second place) and Robert Ricks (third place). The average score in Week 15 of 33 points was dragged down by Keith Goolsby. He was in last place by going 4-11 to "earn" a -66. As you probably know, the lowest score of the week is assigned to all the people who didn't turn in picks that week. So, Keith's -66 was applied to almost 50 (non)players. Thanks, Keith!

Overall Standings after Week 15: Dale Paid his Dues
Dale Dues was the overall leader after Week 14 and he held on to the top position in Week 15. John Banghoff's strong Week 15 performance allowed him to take over second place and push Dan Valle into third (actually, they both have 742 points but John has one more win than Dan). Desiree Meadows and Steve Friend maintained their fourth and fifth place rankings, respectively. The rest of the overall Top 10 players are Jared Lee, Alisha Mize, Pat Spoden, Mark Fuhs and Steve Travis.

Group Play Standings: Tight Race between the Canes and Boomers
The BoomerBacks sit atop the Group Play standings after 15 weeks of NFL action. The have little more than a 1-point lead over Hurricane Elvis. Meanwhile, Sunday Funday is in third place - but they're about 25 points back in the standings.